As part of our monthly State of DeFi overviews, our team tests one application. This month, we tried out @matchaxyz. What it does: Matcha is a DEX aggregator built by @0x. Instead of hosting its own liquidity, Matcha scans more than 130 liquidity sources across 16 networks, and routes each trade to the best available price, splitting orders across multiple venues to improve execution, if required. On top of the core swap, it offers: limit orders; cross-chain swaps that bundle bridging and trading into one transaction; and an MEV-protected, gasless execution mode called Matcha Auto. Our thoughts: Matcha offers a clean trading interface similar to other DEX offerings, but its real advantage lies in its support for cross-chain swaps. This greatly expands the app’s usability and makes trading across ecosystems extremely easy, effectively blending the functions of a bridge and a DEX. Additionally, Matcha’s extensive integrations across multiple chains and liquidity sources helps the app feel like a one-stop shop for making almost any trade. Matcha Auto also protects traders from MEV tactics by sending transactions through a private order flow auction. This prevents sandwiching and front-running attacks, and is especially useful for large trades, often the targets of MEV bots. Overall, Matcha is one of the more complete multichain swap surfaces available for both individual and large traders, as it combines best-price routing, single-transaction cross-chain trades, MEV protection, and built-in token safety checks.