How NEAR Protocol and Infinex are Redefining the DeFi User Experience

Two top crypto entrepreneurs have revealed how they’re collaborating to improve user experiences in DeFi—and say greater levels of interoperability are crucial for fueling adoption.

In a fireside chat with Rug Radio’s Farokh Sarmad, NEAR Protocol founder Illia Polosukhin and Infinex founder Kain Warwick also gave their thoughts on the current state of the digital assets space, and what lies ahead for the rest of 2025 and beyond.

Their projects have been working together in recent months. In June, it was announced that Infinex had successfully integrated NEAR Intents and Chain Signatures. This means top cryptocurrencies that lack smart contract functionality—such as Bitcoin, Dogecoin and XRP—can be swapped and bridged across multiple blockchain networks more easily.

“We see more people on-chain than we’ve ever seen,” Polosukhin said. “We see more traditional finance companies actually starting to use blockchain technology in the way they’re supposed to be.”

Addressing pain points

Polosukhin explained that pain points remain for crypto investors—especially those who are beginning to dabble in digital assets for the first time—and said NEAR Protocol is on a mission to reduce fragmentation in this multitrillion-dollar industry.

“Imagine you go to an airport and want to exchange your money to the local currency,” he explained. “They’re like… no. Before you can exchange currency, you need to go sign up in another place. And we don’t accept your cash here. You need to go to another place. And by the way, Know Your Customer checks take three days.” That is the experience “with wallets, exchanges and apps all being in different places,” he said. “We’ve always thought: how do we simplify this? How do we make this experience smooth?”

Setting out his vision for the future of crypto, Polosukhin said: “Whatever money you have in your pocket, you should be able to go to any app, to any place, and just use it.”

Warwick agreed—and said Infinex has been driven by a desire to compete with centralized exchanges when it comes to user experience.

“The reason why they have the best UX is because they have almost all of the things that people want to do,” he said. “Three years ago, they had 100% of the things that people wanted to do, really. But now, more people are going on-chain.”

Polosukhin said NEAR Intents are designed to bring cryptoassets, users and market makers together in one place, making it easier to compare rates across multiple exchanges to get the best deal.

Surviving crypto cycles

Given their years of experience in crypto, both executives were asked for their top tips for surviving multiple crypto cycles—with rapid surges in bullish phases often followed by painful pullbacks during bear markets.

“I think the most interesting thing for me is every cycle is different,” Warwick said. “There’s no edge when you get into a bull run, so there’s always opportunity for people coming in. Oftentimes, it’s the second or third cycle where people really fumble because they think they know what’s going to happen, and they’re overconfident.”

Polosukhin agreed—and argued that it’s often difficult to predict what will drive the market forward when you’re in the middle of a bull run.

“That’s my favorite part,” Warwick added. “If you want an object lesson in ‘narrative follows price,’ look at ETH. Three months ago, ETH was the worst asset in history. Now it’s trying to break out of $4,000 all of a sudden, and it’s the best thing since Bitcoin.”

With Bitcoin surging by 90% over the past year—and Ethereum jumping by close to 40% in the space of a single month—a burning question is this: how much momentum is left in this current bull market? For Infinex, the answer lies in surging institutional interest across Bitcoin treasury companies and exchange-traded funds.

“I’m super bullish for the rest of the year—and to be honest, even into next year,” Warwick said. He explained that the current cycle has been driven by TradFi, which moves slower than crypto markets. “If you look at TradFi trends, from SPACs to meme stocks, they’re not crypto trends that last for three months,” he said. “They last for two or three years. TradFi takes a while to pick things up, so I think we’ve got a bit of time.”