Leadership in DeFi

Aleksandra Fetisova, known as Sasha, is the Head of BD at 1inch and a recognized authority in the Web3 and DeFi space. With extensive experience in business development and strategic partnerships, she has stood out for her vision focused on innovation and creating solutions that generate value for both individuals and the broader crypto community.

Sasha advocates an ethical and collaborative approach, emphasizing the importance of aligning technological efficiency with responsibility and transparency in DeFi. Her work at 1inch reflects a commitment to transforming both digital and real-world experiences, delivering products that not only optimize operations but also strengthen trust and integrity across the ecosystem.

1inch: Built on Trust

1inch is at the forefront of Web3 innovation, creating products and APIs that make accessing crypto liquidity faster and more efficient for everyone. Beyond technical performance, the brand is guided by strong principles: transparency in every operation, ethical decision-making, and a commitment to the community. By avoiding hidden fees and prioritizing trust, 1inch not only delivers cutting-edge tools but also ensures that the growth of its platform aligns with the long-term health and fairness of the DeFi ecosystem.

Efficiency and Responsibility 

Efficiency often takes center stage in DeFi, with faster trades, lower slippage, and optimized gas fees being key drivers of user satisfaction. However, Sasha highlights that pure efficiency cannot come at the cost of ethical standards. At 1inch, the approach goes beyond technical optimization; it integrates fairness metrics and transparency, ensuring that routing algorithms not only deliver optimal outcomes for traders but also support the long-term health of the ecosystem. 

Sasha explains that certain algorithmic shortcuts could favor large venues or extract value in ways that disadvantage smaller participants. To counteract this, 1inch designs its protocols with ethical alignment in mind. Every decision in routing, smart contract optimization, and gas management is evaluated not just for speed and cost efficiency, but also for fairness and transparency, reflecting the company’s broader commitment to building trust within the community. 

This combination of technical expertise and principled design gives 1inch a unique edge in the market. Users benefit from faster, more cost-effective transactions, while the platform maintains its reputation as a responsible DeFi aggregator. By embedding ethics into the very infrastructure of their technology, 1inch demonstrates that efficiency and responsibility are not mutually exclusive, they are complementary pillars that define the future of decentralized finance.

Talent and technical innovation

At 1inch, technical talent and innovative thinking are at the heart of the platform’s competitive edge. The development team operates in a “hackathon mode,” rapidly identifying trends, predicting potential challenges, and designing solutions ahead of the curve, which allows for continuous iteration and refinement. Their work spans optimizing smart contracts to reduce gas costs, enhancing routing efficiency, and developing advanced cross-chain solutions through intent-based atomic swaps that eliminate reliance on third-party bridges, ensuring both security and decentralization. By constantly benchmarking against competitors and analyzing their approaches, the team is able not only to maintain high performance but also to push boundaries, delivering superior outcomes for users. This combination of skilled developers, proactive problem-solving, and innovative architecture creates a robust, adaptable platform that reinforces 1inch’s leadership in DeFi, demonstrating that technical excellence and strategic foresight are inseparable in driving sustainable growth and adoption.

Onboarding and growing adoption

Tools like crypto cards are proving essential in introducing new users to the world of DeFi, as they allow people to interact with digital assets in a way that feels familiar and straightforward. Sasha emphasizes that by providing an accessible entry point, users can start engaging with crypto without being confronted by complex technical barriers, which makes their first experiences smoother and more intuitive. Education is designed to progress naturally, guiding individuals step by step, from learning how to manage a self-custody wallet to understanding and using DeFi protocols confidently. For Sasha, this approach reflects a broader sense of responsibility toward the community, emphasizing organic growth through knowledge-sharing and encouraging users to explore the ecosystem at their own pace while building trust and engagement over time.

Future vision and legacy

Sasha envisions 1inch being remembered not just as a technical infrastructure, seamlessly powering transactions behind the scenes, but also as a platform guided by DeFi’s core principles. For her, the ideal legacy combines both practical utility and ideological impact, creating a system that works effortlessly for users while reflecting the values of decentralization, fairness, and transparency. She emphasizes that embedding these principles directly into protocols is essential for fostering long-term health in the ecosystem, ensuring that growth is sustainable and aligned with the community’s best interests.

Education and responsible engagement are central to this vision. By equipping users with knowledge and encouraging participation, 1inch aims to cultivate a reliable and thriving DeFi community. Sasha highlights that every interaction, whether onboarding a new user or supporting builders, contributes to a more robust and trustworthy network. To explore this vision in practice, we invite you to discover more about the innovative work of 1inch and the broader ecosystem shaping the future of decentralized finance.