Kōan

Kōan is a no-code/low-code platform for building full-stack DeFi applications through a visual, node-based interface. It removes the technical complexity traditionally required to develop, deploy, and maintain sophisticated blockchain applications, making DeFi development accessible to non-developers, domain experts, and small teams.

Problem DeFi development demands expertise in Solidity, frontend/backend integration, blockchain infrastructure, and protocol-specific APIs. This complexity excludes financial professionals and small builders, and delays innovation. Fragmentation across protocols and chains, security risks, and the operational burden of multi-chain deployments further exacerbate these challenges.

What Makes Kōan Different

Visual Workflow Engine Users drag and drop modular components—such as token swaps, lending interfaces, wallets, or governance logic—to build workflows. No Solidity or web3 coding required. The platform abstracts state handling, data flow, and smart contract logic.

Pre-built, Audited Components Each protocol integration (e.g. 1inch, Aave, Compound) is packaged as a hardened, reusable block with security patterns, optimal routing, and real-time safeguards like MEV protection and slippage control.

Full-Stack Code Generation Kōan outputs production-ready apps—frontend in Next.js/TypeScript, backend in Express.js, smart contract deployment scripts, and Dockerized environments—automatically, complete with logging, validation, and best practices baked in.

AI-Powered Strategy Builder Users describe DeFi strategies in natural language. The AI engine converts this into a visual workflow, auto-connecting components with context-aware defaults and configurations.

Advanced Cross-Chain Support Features like Fusion Monad Bridge (HTLC + 1inch Fusion) allow trustless atomic swaps between Ethereum and Monad. Multi-chain deployment handles gas optimization and RPC management across Ethereum, BSC, Arbitrum, Optimism, and more.

Security by Default Security patterns—rate limiting, input validation, reentrancy protection—are built-in. All templates are audit-ready, with tools for monitoring and risk modeling (e.g., for oracle manipulation, liquidity fragility, or bridge failure).

Deployment & Collaboration Tools One-click deployment to Vercel/Railway or Docker. Team-friendly version control, visual diffs, and GitHub integration streamline iterative workflows.

Economic and Ecosystem Impact Kōan reduces time-to-market, lowers the barrier to innovation, and allows creators to monetize via protocol referrals and revenue-sharing. Standardized, reusable components improve security hygiene across the ecosystem. The platform also serves as a DeFi learning tool by exposing real-time mechanics in an interactive UI.

Roadmap Highlights Upcoming features include:

AI-driven performance optimizations

Backtesting with historical DeFi data

DAO-powered governance of component libraries

Zero-knowledge modules and L2-native primitives

Traditional finance integrations for hybrid applications

Conclusion Kōan redefines how DeFi applications are built—not by simplifying the output, but by abstracting the complexity underneath. It empowers a broader range of innovators to build secure, scalable DeFi products without deep engineering resources, accelerating adoption and experimentation across the decentralized finance landscape.

We built Kōan as a full-stack visual DeFi development platform that turns drag-and-drop workflows into deployable dApps. The frontend is built with Next.js 14 and React Flow, customized to support DeFi primitives—swaps, bridges, staking, wallet actions—as configurable visual nodes. We extended React Flow with a rule-based connection system, dynamic node forms, and live validation logic to guide user flow construction.

The backend, in Node.js (TypeScript), parses the visual graph into an executable dependency tree. We wrote a custom topological sorter to resolve execution order, detect circular dependencies, and support parallel execution of independent branches. Execution results stream live to the frontend via WebSockets (Socket.io). Protocol logic is modularized in executor classes for scalability.

We integrated deeply with 1inch protocols (Swap API, Fusion, Limit Orders). For Fusion+, we implemented gasless meta-transactions, sealed-bid auctions, and MEV protection using signed orders and time-locked reveals. This made our platform uniquely composable with 1inch’s full stack.

Our cross-chain bridge between Ethereum and Monad uses Hash Time Locked Contracts (HTLCs) with a real-time monitoring system. We track transaction state on both chains, handle race conditions, and ensure atomic swaps or safe rollbacks.

The Python-based AI agent turns natural language DeFi strategies into valid visual workflows by mapping them to our component graph using a protocol-aware knowledge base.

We also built a codegen engine that transforms visual flows into full-stack apps—Next.js frontends, Express APIs, and Solidity smart contracts—complete with Docker configs and deploy scripts.

Hacky wins:

Graph-based auto-connect system using ML pattern matching

Real-time cross-chain sync engine

AI-assisted DeFi strategy translation

Full-stack code generation from visual logic

These components combine into a market-ready, no-code DeFi app builder.