1inch has 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 into liquidity pools.

Following its developer launch in November 2025, Aqua is now being presented as a risk-controlled alternative to DeFi’s traditional pool-based model and a tool for more capital-efficient liquidity provisioning.

According to 1inch, Aqua works 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 the 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 swap meets the criteria, 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 also 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 the 1inch DAO is contributing an additional 500,000 USDC. 1inch said the initiative is intended to accelerate liquidity growth and swap activity across supported pairs. Program terms, markets and safeguards are set out in the published campaign configuration.

1inch said the current pool-based model remains a major constraint on DeFi’s ability to scale and bring TradFi capital on chain. In that model, liquidity providers deposit assets into pools and give up custody, while active capital is spread across protocols, pairs and price ranges. The company cited on-chain research by Dune commissioned by 1inch showing that 85% of concentrated liquidity across major DEXs was underutilized in H1 2026, or about $1.6 billion of the $1.84 billion tracked. The research also found about $542 million sitting fully out of range in an average week, leading to an estimated $150 million in fees foregone per year.

Aqua is designed to let the same wallet balance back multiple positions at the same time. Under the model, a single balance can support several quotes simultaneously. 1inch said, for example, that 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.

Positions on Aqua can be full range, concentrated or pegged, depending on the selected pair and position type. Users can open and close positions themselves without a lock-up. Exposure is limited to the tokens they actually hold rather than the theoretical combined size of every position they create. If a wallet cannot cover a swap, Aqua does not call on those tokens.

From today, users can create positions across 13 EVM chains, including Ethereum, Arbitrum, Base, Robinhood Chain and BNB Chain. Aqua is also launching with several additional features, 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 via the 1inch Business MCP with safe batch deployment, which is coming soon.

1inch said Aqua has undergone eight independent security audits by OpenZeppelin, Bailsec, Hashlock, Hexens, MixBytes, Nethermind, Theori and Decurity. Because the system is fully self-custodial and never holds user tokens, a swap can only move assets that are actually in the provider’s wallet at the moment it fills. Revocation stops new fills once it confirms on-chain. 1inch also said Aqua is protected from JIT fee sniping by design because each position has a single owner, leaving no shared fee moment for bots to target.

The company added that while Aqua keeps exposure bounded and providers in control of their own 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. The company says it is a leading platform for low-cost, efficient token swaps with more than $100 million in daily trades, and also offers a self-custodial wallet, a portfolio tracker, a business portal and a debit card for crypto spending. 1inch said it is continuing to simplify DeFi through ongoing product development.

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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.