Squid 2.0: Revolutionizing Cross-Chain Interoperability, Decentralized Swaps & Payments

In this special episode of the Building Web3 Podcast, host Jax Dwyer sits down with Fig, co-founder of Squid, to explore the groundbreaking innovations in the Web3 ecosystem and how Squid 2.0 is reshaping the decentralized finance landscape. If you’ve ever faced the challenges of fragmentation in the crypto space—whether it's dealing with multiple chains, limited token accessibility, or complex cross-chain swaps—Squid is here to solve these problems by providing an innovative, decentralized solution that’s both user-friendly and developer-ready.

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Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Background
01:48 Motivation for Squid and its Mission
05:00 Technical Details of Squid's Swaps and Payments
07:51 Implementation Challenges and Solutions
12:33 Differentiating Factors of Squid in the Ecosystem
16:22 Partnerships and Integrations with Squid
20:10 Building Integrations with Different Blockchains
21:55 Introduction to Squid 2.0 and its Innovations
27:55 Community Engagement and Squid Summer Camp
34:03 Opportunities for Builders in the Crypto Space
36:34 How to Learn More and Get Involved with Squid


What Is Squid and How Does It Solve Fragmentation?
In the crypto world, fragmentation refers to the scattered nature of assets across multiple blockchains, making it difficult for users and developers to seamlessly interact with various decentralized platforms. Squid was created to tackle this exact problem, offering a solution that integrates cross-chain swaps, payments, and interoperability. Fig discusses how Squid 2.0 provides an easy-to-use, one-click system that allows users to swap tokens across different chains, access liquidity, and use decentralized applications (dApps) in a more streamlined and efficient manner.

With partnerships that include major players like Axelar, ChainFlip, and Immutable, Squid provides liquidity for decentralized finance (DeFi), NFTs, staking, and more, all while ensuring users retain full self-custody of their assets. This episode delves into how Squid has made significant strides in improving the user experience by solving interoperability issues, providing native access to Bitcoin and other assets, and building integrations with 77+ chains, with plans for even more.

Squid 2.0: Faster, Smarter, and Scalable
Squid 2.0 represents a major leap forward for cross-chain technology, offering not just speed but also scalability. Fig explains how Squid’s architecture—built on a graph-based system—makes finding the best routes for swapping tokens faster and cheaper than ever before. Whether you're swapping ETH, Bitcoin, USDC, or any other crypto asset, Squid’s unique backend optimizes these complex transactions, offering decentralized liquidity from DEXs like Uniswap, combined with the centralized liquidity from market makers.

Partnerships & Ecosystem Expansion
A key component of Squid’s growth has been its strategic partnerships across the Web3 ecosystem. With integrations that include DYDX, Metamask, Trust Wallet, Blockchain.com, Immutable, and more, Squid 2.0 is making waves as the go-to API for developers building cross-chain solutions. Fig dives into how Squid’s hooks feature allows developers to create highly customizable applications, such as enabling NFT purchases, staking, and interacting with DeFi protocols, all within a single, unified interface.

Squid 2.0: Built for Developers
One of Squid’s biggest innovations lies in its developer-first approach. Fig highlights how Squid’s API is the most integrated cross-chain SDK in the space, offering developers tools to easily build apps that support multiple chains. Whether you're building on Arbitrum, Optimism, or even newer chains like Sui or Cardano, Squid 2.0 provides a one-click, cross-chain solution that eliminates the complexit