1inch Expands Aqua Liquidity Protocol to 13 Chains
Key Takeaways
- •Aqua now operates across 13 Ethereum Virtual Machine-compatible chains.
- •Users keep tokens in their own wallets until a matching swap executes.
- •1inch said a $100,000 balance can quote up to $300,000 across three positions, but only assets actually held in the wallet can be used for execution.
- •1inch said its research found that 85% of the $1.84 billion tracked across major concentrated-liquidity exchanges was underutilized in the first half of 2026.
- •The launch includes a Merkl incentive program with 10 million 1INCH tokens from the 1inch Foundation and $500,000 in USDC from the 1inch DAO.
1inch has expanded its Aqua liquidity protocol to 13 Ethereum Virtual Machine-compatible chains, allowing liquidity providers to share liquidity across multiple positions at once.
The decentralized exchange (DEX) aggregator said Aqua lets users keep assets in their own wallets and use a single balance to support multiple positions, rather than splitting capital across separate pools. Tokens remain in the provider’s wallet until a matching swap executes.
"tokens to stay in your wallet, under your control, while one balance backs multiple positions across different strategies rather than being split between smart contract deposits," 1inch co-founder Sergej Kunz told CoinDesk.
According to 1inch, a $100,000 balance could support three positions quoting a combined $300,000. The company stressed that this is quoted liquidity rather than additional capital: orders can only execute against assets held in the wallet, and a swap fails if the balance cannot cover it.
1inch first unveiled Aqua last year, along with its software development kit, libraries and documentation. The public interface now lets users create full-range, concentrated or pegged positions across chains including Ethereum, Base, BNB Chain, Arbitrum and Robinhood Chain.
The rollout comes after research commissioned by 1inch found that 85% of the $1.84 billion tracked across major concentrated-liquidity exchanges was underutilized in the first half of 2026. The research also found that roughly $542 million sat fully outside active trading ranges in an average week, missing an estimated $150 million in annual fees.
Against that backdrop, Aqua is being positioned as a tool for liquidity providers who want to manage more than one strategy without moving funds between contracts, while the protocol still carries the usual risks associated with onchain market making. 1inch said Aqua underwent eight independent security audits. The company noted that liquidity providers still face price movements, impermanent loss and smart-contract risk.
The launch includes a liquidity incentive program distributed through Merkl. According to an announcement shared with CoinDesk, the 1inch Foundation is committing 10 million 1INCH tokens and the 1inch DAO is contributing $500,000 in USDC over three months. At current prices, the token portion is worth roughly $870,000, bringing the combined program to about $1.37 million.