1inch launches Aqua shared liquidity protocol on 13 EVM chains
In brief
- 1inch launches Aqua across 13 EVM chains, letting liquidity providers use one balance for multiple positions
- Single $100,000 balance can support three positions quoting $300,000 in liquidity without capital splitting
- Research found 85% of $1.84B in concentrated liquidity underutilized, missing $150M in annual fees
- Aqua completed eight security audits and launched with $1.37 million in incentives
Capital efficiency breakthrough
1inch opened Aqua across 13 EVM chains, including Ethereum, Base, BNB Chain, Arbitrum and Robinhood Chain. The shared liquidity model addresses a persistent inefficiency in decentralized finance. Instead of locking capital into separate pools, liquidity providers can now deploy a single balance to back multiple positions simultaneously.
The mechanics are straightforward. A $100,000 balance could support three positions quoting a combined $300,000 in liquidity. Orders execute only against assets held in the wallet. If the balance can't cover a swap, the order fails. This constraint keeps the system simple and transparent.
Why liquidity was sitting idle
Research commissioned by 1inch found that 85% of $1.84 billion tracked across major concentrated-liquidity exchanges was underutilized in the first half of 2026. The problem runs deeper: roughly $542 million sat fully outside active trading ranges in an average week, missing an estimated $150 million in annual fees.
Aqua tackles this by letting providers create full-range, concentrated or pegged positions without fragmenting capital. Liquidity providers still face price movements, impermanent loss and smart-contract risk—but now they can manage those risks across multiple positions using a single wallet.
Launch details and incentives
1inch said Aqua underwent eight independent security audits before opening to users. The protocol first appeared last year as a software development kit and documentation. The public rollout includes a liquidity incentive program distributed through Merkl. The 1inch Foundation committed 10 million 1INCH tokens, and the 1inch DAO added $500,000 in USDC over three months. At current prices, the token portion is worth roughly $870,000, putting the combined program around $1.37 million.
