What request-for-quote liquidity adds to a DEX route

Request-for-quote liquidity comes from a participant offering specific exchange terms in response to a request. In a DEX aggregator, that participant is often a professional market maker. The offer can be formed offchain and executed through onchain contracts.

A quote is attached to conditions

A hypothetical maker might offer 500 B for 100 A to an eligible taker until a stated expiry. This is different from reading the output curve of a public pool. The maker has offered a bounded trade, not necessarily unlimited size at the same rate.

0x's RFQ order specification includes assets, amounts, identity constraints and expiry. Its RFQ explanation describes soliciting professional offers alongside AMM liquidity.

How it enters a route

An optimizer can compare an eligible RFQ offer with pool-based alternatives. Some routes can combine several sources. However, combining liquidity requires compatible size and settlement rules; the router cannot assume a maker will honor an amount or taker outside the offer.

The phrase offchain liquidity concerns how the quote is provided or inventory is managed. It does not automatically mean the user's trade settles on a centralized exchange account. Identify where the signed offer is actually enforced.

What a user should distinguish

• Indicative interest: a reference price that may need a firm offer.
• Executable terms: an eligible quote subject to its explicit conditions.
• Completed fill: settlement that actually transferred the assets.

A firm quote can still fail to execute if it expires or another necessary condition no longer holds. Firmness is not a guarantee of block inclusion or perpetual availability.

RFQ adds a different type of liquidity to the search space. It may improve a particular order or contribute nothing when no eligible maker supports the pair or size. The label alone does not establish a better result than an AMM route.