Following its developer launch in November 2025, Aqua is now being presented as a risk-controlled alternative to DeFi's pool-based model.

1inch is also introducing a Merkl-powered liquidity incentive program for Aqua, funded with 10 million 1INCH from the 1inch Foundation and 500,000 USDC from 1inch DAO.

Aqua is going live across 13 EVM chains from day one.

ROAD TOWN, British Virgin Islands, July 28, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- 1inch, the DeFi ecosystem, announced the full public launch of Aqua, a self-custodial shared liquidity layer that allows liquidity providers to use the same wallet balance across multiple positions without locking assets in liquidity pools.

Following its developer launch in November 2025, Aqua is now positioned as one of the first risk-controlled alternatives to DeFi's traditional pool-based model, with the goal of enabling more capital-efficient liquidity provisioning. The launch comes as liquidity providers continue to look for ways to keep assets active without handing custody to a pool, a tradeoff that has shaped much of DeFi market structure to date.

1inch said Aqua functions as a registry. A user connects a wallet to approve a token balance and create liquidity positions that can access that balance. The Aqua protocol tracks the approved balance, and when it receives a swap order that matches a position's criteria, it pulls the requested tokens from the wallet and returns the received tokens and fees in a single atomic transaction. If no order matches, the user's tokens remain in the wallet and under the user's control.

"The liquidity provisioning space is broken, but you only see how broken once there's an alternative. Today, that alternative has arrived. With Aqua, liquidity providers no longer have to accept the inefficient pool structure they've put up with for years," said Sergej Kunz, 1inch co-founder. "DeFi doesn't just need more liquidity. It needs more useful liquidity, active wherever demand appears. We built Aqua so providers get that reach without giving up custody: your tokens stay in your wallet until the moment a swap fills."

Alongside the product launch, 1inch Network Incentives is going live as a liquidity reward program for Aqua. The program is led by Degensoft Ltd (BVI) and delivered through Merkl. The 1inch Foundation has committed 10 million 1INCH in provider rewards, and 1inch DAO is contributing an additional 500,000 USDC. The initiative is intended to accelerate liquidity growth and swap activity across supported pairs. Program terms, markets and safeguards are outlined in the published campaign configuration.

1inch said the current pool-based system is a major limitation on DeFi's ability to scale and bring TradFi capital on-chain. For liquidity providers, depositing into pools means giving up custody, while active capital is spread across protocols, pairs and price ranges. The company cited on-chain research by Dune commissioned by 1inch, saying that 85% of concentrated liquidity across major DEXs was underutilized in H1 2026, representing roughly $1.6 billion of the $1.84 billion tracked. That included about $542 million sitting fully out of range in an average week, with an estimated $150 million in annual fees foregone.

Through Aqua, 1inch is promoting a shared-liquidity model that allows the same wallet balance to back multiple positions at the same time. Unlike the traditional model, in which liquidity must be split across multiple pools and positions, Aqua allows one balance to support multiple quotes simultaneously. For example, a $100,000 balance can support three positions collectively quoting $300,000 of liquidity, with the potential to quote more. The underlying tokens remain available to every position at all times; nothing is borrowed, and any swap can execute only against the assets actually held in the wallet.

Aqua positions can be full range, concentrated or pegged, depending on the selected pair and position type. Users can open and close positions themselves with no lock-up. Their exposure is limited by the tokens they actually hold, not by the theoretical combined size of every position they create. If a wallet cannot cover a swap, Aqua does not call on those tokens.

Starting today, users can create positions across 13 EVM chains, including Ethereum, Arbitrum, Base, Robinhood Chain and BNB Chain. Aqua also launches with additional functions including a liquidity leaderboard, an incentives screen, liquidity map visualizations, batch position creation, provider profiles with cross-chain positions, sub-wallets, and an AI-assisted liquidity provisioning flow through the 1inch Business MCP, with safe batch deployment coming soon.

Aqua has undergone eight independent security audits by OpenZeppelin, Bailsec, Hashlock, Hexens, MixBytes, Nethermind, Theori and Decurity. 1inch said that, together with its self-custodial design, which never holds user tokens, this means a swap can move only assets that are actually in the provider's wallet when it fills. Revocation stops new fills once it confirms on-chain. Aqua is also designed to protect against JIT fee sniping, since each position has a single owner and there is no shared fee moment for bots to exploit.

1inch also said that while Aqua keeps exposure bounded and leaves providers in control of their tokens, swap fees are not guaranteed, prices can move against a position through impermanent loss, and providers bear market and smart-contract risk.

About 1inch

1inch says it accelerates decentralized finance with a crypto trading experience for 27 million users. In addition to token swaps with more than $100 million in daily trades, the company offers a self-custodial wallet, a portfolio tracker, a business portal, and a debit card for crypto spending. 1inch says it is working to simplify DeFi for everyone.

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Aqua involves risk, including loss of funds. It is built for experienced users. Do your own research. Not financial advice. Incentive rewards are variable, not guaranteed, and subject to the program's published terms.