1inch launched Aqua to the public on July 28, 2026, a self-custodial shared liquidity layer that lets liquidity providers use the same wallet balance across multiple positions without locking assets in pools. The 1inch Foundation committed 10 million 1INCH tokens and the 1inch DAO contributed 500,000 USDC for liquidity rewards through a Merkl-powered program. Aqua goes live across 13 EVM chains, including Ethereum, Arbitrum, Base, Robinhood Chain, and BNB Chain.
Why Aqua exists
The launch tackles a glaring inefficiency. According to 1inch-commissioned Dune research, 85% of concentrated liquidity across major DEXs was underutilized in the first half of 2026. That's about $1.6 billion of the $1.84 billion tracked, with $542 million sitting out of range every week. The study estimates that leads to roughly $150 million in fees foregone per year. Aqua's design aims to put that capital back to work.
How it works
Aqua positions can be full range, concentrated, or pegged — and there's no lock-up. Exposure is capped by the actual tokens held in the wallet. The platform also includes a liquidity leaderboard, an incentives screen, liquidity map visualizations, batch position creation, provider profiles, sub-wallets, and an AI-assisted flow via 1inch Business MCP. It's a lot of tooling, but the core pitch is simple: one balance, many positions, no pool lock.
Security and rollout
Aqua underwent eight independent security audits by OpenZeppelin, Bailsec, Hashlock, Hexens, Nethermind, Theori, and Decurity. That's a heavy audit load for a DeFi protocol. The developer launch happened back in November 2025; the public release this week opens the door to all LPs. The rewards program is live now, powered by Merkl, and the 1inch team says the shared liquidity model should reduce the capital waste the Dune research flagged.
