1inch has opened Aqua, its shared DeFi liquidity layer, to all users across 13 EVM chains, eight months after a developer-only release.

The rollout expands access to a product 1inch has positioned as a way to keep capital in users’ wallets while still making it available for swaps, a structure that differs from the standard pool-deposit model used across much of DeFi.

Providers approve a wallet balance rather than depositing funds into a pool, and tokens move only when a swap is filled.

1inch says every swap is executed by a verified counterparty, which it describes as a first for a liquidity venue.

The protocol went live on Tuesday across 13 EVM chains, including Ethereum, Arbitrum, Base, BNB Chain and Robinhood Chain. A front end had originally been planned for the first quarter.

Described as "the foundation for scalable, capital-efficient DeFi," Aqua works as a registry rather than a pool. A liquidity provider approves a token balance and creates positions that draw on it. Tokens are never deposited into a contract. When a swap matches a position's terms, the protocol pulls the tokens and returns the proceeds and fees atomically. Approvals are set per token and per chain, and can be revoked.

Liquidity providers: it’s time to wake up. Use 1inch Aqua to find more activity in more markets, without letting your tokens out of your wallet. Risk-controlled execution meets full self-custody. No, you aren’t dreaming. Here’s how it works: ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/F7CJeikteJ — 1inch (@1inch) July 28, 2026

Every swap on Aqua is executed by a "verified counterparty," which 1inch defines as "a market maker or arbitrage bot that has been verified," with the check "enforced on-chain at swap time." 1inch calls Aqua the first risk-controlled liquidity venue and says it is part of a broader move toward "risk-controlled and regulated DeFi."

When Aqua reached developers in November, the company said anyone could interact with a position to execute a swap.

1inch also says each position has a single owner, which makes just-in-time fee skimming impossible and puts the cost of such attacks at up to 44% of provider fee income.

The company gave the example of a $100,000 balance supporting three positions that collectively quote $300,000. No funds are borrowed, and a swap can only execute against tokens actually held in the wallet, so exposure is capped by holdings rather than by the combined size of the positions.

The 1inch Foundation has committed 10 million 1INCH in provider rewards for the launch, with an additional 500,000 USDC from the 1inch DAO distributed through Merkl.

Aqua has undergone eight independent audits by firms including OpenZeppelin, Nethermind, Hexens and Bailsec. 1inch also said the product is built for "experienced users," noting that fees are not guaranteed, prices can move against a position, and providers face market and smart contract risk.

At the time of Aqua's early access launch, a 1inch spokesperson said the protocol could "transform how capital and yield strategies operate in DeFi," deepen liquidity across the industry and reduce fragmentation.