NEAR’s intent-based system is seeing a sharp surge in activity, driven by integration with Zcash’s Zashi wallet. Transaction volumes have nearly doubled month-on-month, and unique users have surpassed 120,000, according to Dune Analytics.
In the past 30 days, roughly $800 million in swaps and payments have flowed through NEAR Intents, bringing cumulative totals to about $1.8 billion since launch earlier this year.
The platform simplifies cross-chain transactions by letting users specify outcomes — for example, “swap USDC on Ethereum for NEAR on Solana” — while NEAR Intents handles routing automatically. USDC, WETH, and emerging ecosystem tokens dominate by volume, while Ethereum, Solana, and Zcash lead on the blockchain side. Active users reached 113,000 last week, reflecting consistent engagement rather than one-off incentive-driven activity.
Orders are bundled and matched by relayers, reducing transaction failures and cutting gas costs. This architecture appeals to traders who want seamless cross-chain execution without juggling multiple wallets or waiting for bridge confirmations.
Zashi enhances the privacy angle with two key features:
- Zashi Swaps: Convert BTC, SOL, USDC, and other assets directly into ZEC within the app, which can then be shielded.
- CrossPay: Spend shielded ZEC, with recipients receiving funds in any NEAR-supported crypto of their choice.
This integration comes as Zcash has quadrupled in price over the past month, bringing the token back into market conversation. By providing a smooth on-ramp and off-ramp to NEAR Intents, Zashi improves usability for everyday users and demonstrates how privacy wallets can leverage NEAR Intents’ background routing to simplify the user experience.
