1inch has opened Aqua to the public, introducing a self-custodial liquidity layer designed to let decentralized finance users quote liquidity across multiple markets while keeping the underlying tokens in their own wallets. The product, released to developers in November 2025, launches across 13 Ethereum Virtual Machine-compatible networks and seeks to address a persistent problem in automated market making: capital sitting idle, fragmented, or stranded outside profitable price ranges.
Aqua replaces the familiar model of depositing tokens into separate liquidity pools with an on-chain registry of wallet-backed positions. A provider connects a wallet, approves a token balance and creates one or more positions governed by specified rules. The assets remain in the wallet unless a matched swap needs them.
When a trade is executed, Aqua draws the required tokens directly from the provider’s wallet and sends the purchased assets and trading fees back in the same atomic transaction. Atomic execution means every part of the transaction completes together or none of it does. Orders that do not match leave the provider’s assets untouched.
The model allows a single balance to support several positions at once. In 1inch’s example, a wallet holding $100,000 can create three positions that collectively quote $300,000 in liquidity. Any individual trade remains capped by the tokens actually available when the swap is executed, preventing positions from spending beyond the wallet balance.
Wallet balances replace isolated pool deposits
Traditional concentrated-liquidity systems require providers to divide assets among pools, price ranges and chains. A position can stop earning fees when the market price moves outside its selected range, while the tokens remain committed to that pool until the provider changes or withdraws the position.
Aqua is built around the idea that positions can share the same approved wallet balance rather than each requiring a dedicated deposit. Providers can create full-range, concentrated or pegged positions, then open or close them without stated lock-up periods. If a wallet lacks sufficient tokens when a swap reaches a position, Aqua simply does not execute that call.
That constraint places execution certainty above quoted depth. A trader may see liquidity advertised by multiple Aqua positions tied to the same wallet, but only the portion supported by the wallet balance at the point of settlement can fill. The design therefore improves how widely a provider can deploy a balance without creating additional token balances on-chain.
It also leaves providers responsible for managing their available inventory. A wallet owner who transfers assets away, uses them elsewhere or revokes the relevant authorization can reduce the liquidity available to outstanding Aqua positions.
Research points to unused concentrated liquidity
1inch cited research produced by Dune that found 85% of concentrated liquidity across major decentralized exchanges was underutilized during the first half of 2026. The study, commissioned by 1inch, tracked about $1.84 billion in concentrated liquidity and classified roughly $1.6 billion of that total as underutilized.
According to the research, an average of approximately $542 million sat entirely outside its active price range each week. Dune estimated that the missed activity translated into around $150 million in annual fees foregone.
The figures illustrate the incentive behind Aqua’s wallet-backed approach. Concentrated liquidity can provide efficient execution when prices remain inside a selected range, but it demands active management. Once a market moves beyond the range, the position can effectively become one-sided and stop serving trades until it is adjusted.
Aqua does not remove the price-risk decisions involved in supplying liquidity. Providers must still select ranges, decide how much of their wallet balance to make available, and manage exposure to tokens that may change in value. Its contribution is to make the same balance reusable across alternative positions, rather than forcing it into a single isolated allocation.
Incentives program begins with 10 million 1inch allocation
The launch includes a liquidity rewards program called 1inch Network Incentives, deployed through Merkl and led by Degensoft Ltd, a British Virgin Islands entity. The 1inch Foundation allocated 10 million 1INCH tokens for provider rewards, while the 1inch DAO added 500,000 USDC, according to 1inch.
Reward markets and safeguards are set out in the campaign configuration. The program gives Aqua an early mechanism to attract liquidity, particularly on markets where providers may need compensation for testing a new execution model or quoting less liquid assets.
Incentives can increase quoted liquidity but do not eliminate the risks faced by providers. Token rewards may change in value, while liquidity providers remain exposed to market movements, execution conditions and the possibility that their approved wallet funds are unavailable when a position is selected for a swap.
Launch spans 13 EVM networks
Aqua is available at launch across 13 EVM chains, including Ethereum, Arbitrum, Base, Robinhood Chain and BNB Chain. Supporting multiple networks from the outset gives providers a way to view and manage positions across chains through one system, though each chain retains its own token balances and transaction environment.
The interface includes a liquidity leaderboard, incentive screens, liquidity-map visualizations, batch position creation and provider profiles that display cross-chain positions. 1inch also listed sub-wallet functionality among the available features.
The company said an AI-assisted liquidity provisioning flow through 1inch Business MCP, alongside safe batch deployment tools, is planned for a later release. Those additions would aim to simplify the operational work of establishing and updating multiple positions, an area that has often limited concentrated-liquidity strategies to more active users.
Security design focuses on token control and fee ownership
1inch said Aqua underwent eight independent security audits conducted by OpenZeppelin, Bailsec, Hashlock, Hexens, MixBytes, Nethermind, Theori and Decurity. The protocol does not take custody of user tokens, according to 1inch, because assets remain in the provider’s connected wallet until a matched transaction executes.
A provider can revoke approval, and once that revocation has been confirmed on-chain, new fills are halted. As with other on-chain permission systems, the timing of that confirmation depends on the relevant network processing the transaction.
Aqua’s position model also assigns each position to a single owner. 1inch said this structure is intended to prevent just-in-time fee sniping, a practice in which liquidity can be added immediately before a transaction to capture fees and removed soon afterward. Assigning fees to individually owned positions aims to make the relationship between quoted liquidity and earned fees more direct.
Aqua’s public release gives liquidity providers a different trade-off from conventional pool deposits: more flexibility in using a wallet balance across positions, paired with the need to ensure that balance is available whenever a quoted order is called.
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