CoW Protocol protocol
Overview
CoW Protocol is a decentralized exchange aggregator that uses batch auctions and a 'Coincidence of Wants' (CoW) mechanism to match orders peer-to-peer before routing through external liquidity. Users submit trading intents, and solvers compete to settle these intents by finding optimal execution paths, including internal matches. It operates on Ethereum and other compatible chains.
Within the DeFi Intel graph, CoW Protocol connects to 13 tracked entities, most strongly to Ethereum, Arbitrum, Base.
Relations
Top connections in the DeFi Intel knowledge graph (confidence-weighted, 10 of 13 total).
| Relation | Connected entity | Confidence |
|---|---|---|
deployed_on | Ethereum | 95% |
deployed_on | Arbitrum | 95% |
deployed_on | Base | 95% |
deployed_on | Polygon | 95% |
deployed_on | Optimism | 95% |
deployed_on | BNB Chain | 95% |
deployed_on | Avalanche | 95% |
deployed_on | Linea | 95% |
deployed_on | Gnosis | 95% |
deployed_on | Plasma | 95% |
More on CoW Protocol
Frequently asked questions
What is a Coincidence of Wants?
When two users' orders can be matched directly against each other within a batch, avoiding the need to route through on-chain liquidity pools.
How are trades priced on CoW Protocol?
Through fair combinatorial batch auctions, where orders are batched and solvers compete to produce the best settlement.
What is CoW AMM?
An automated market maker built by CoW DAO intended to shield liquidity providers from losses arising from stale pricing.
Related reading
Sources
Facts on this page were verified against the following sources.