1inch Opens Aqua to Public, Launches Rewards With 10M 1INCH and $500,000 USDC

How Aqua works

According to 1inch, Aqua functions as a registry rather than a conventional pooled venue. A user connects a wallet, approves a token balance and then creates liquidity positions that reference that balance. When a swap order matches the criteria of one of those positions, Aqua pulls the required tokens from the wallet and returns the received assets and fees within a single atomic transaction. If no qualifying trade appears, the tokens stay in the user’s wallet.

The company argues this structure addresses a core weakness of pool-based DeFi liquidity, where capital is often split across protocols, trading pairs and price ranges. In Aqua’s model, one balance can support several quotes at once. 1inch gave the example of a $100,000 balance backing three positions that together quote $300,000 in liquidity, with the possibility of quoting more. It said nothing is borrowed and a trade can execute only against assets that are actually present in the wallet.

Position types and network rollout

1inch said Aqua supports full-range, concentrated and pegged positions, depending on the asset pair and chosen format. Users can open and close those positions themselves without locking funds, and their exposure is limited to the tokens they actually hold rather than the total notional amount quoted across all positions. If a wallet does not contain enough funds to satisfy a swap, Aqua does not use the assets.

The public rollout begins across 13 EVM-compatible networks. 1inch specifically named Ethereum, Arbitrum, Base, Robinhood Chain and BNB Chain among the supported chains. Additional tools shipping with the launch include a liquidity leaderboard, an incentives dashboard, liquidity map visualizations, batch position creation, provider profiles with crosschain positions and sub-wallets. The company also said an AI assistant for providing liquidity through 1inch Business MCP with secure batch deployment is coming soon.

Incentives tied to launch

Alongside the release, 1inch is starting a rewards program called 1inch Network Incentives for Aqua liquidity providers. The initiative is led by Degensoft Ltd. in the British Virgin Islands, while execution is being handled through Merkl. The 1inch Foundation has allocated 10 million 1INCH for the campaign, and the 1inch DAO has added another $500,000 in USDC.

1inch said the program is intended to speed up liquidity growth and swap activity in supported markets. The company added that the campaign’s terms, target markets and safeguards are set out in the published configuration.

Security and risk profile

Before the public launch, Aqua underwent eight independent security audits, according to 1inch. The firms named were OpenZeppelin, Bailsec, Hashlock, Hexens, MixBytes, Nethermind, Theori and Decurity. The company said Aqua’s non-custodial design means the protocol never holds user tokens and can move only the assets available in a provider’s wallet at the moment a swap is executed.

1inch also said that revoking token approval stops new executions once the revocation is confirmed onchain, and argued that the architecture protects against JIT fee sniping because each position has a single owner rather than a shared fee accrual point. At the same time, the company noted that swap fees are not guaranteed and that providers still face market risk, smart contract risk and the possibility of impermanent loss.

The launch positions Aqua as 1inch’s alternative to the conventional pool model that, in its view, limits DeFi scaling and broader onchain capital participation. The protocol’s pitch is greater capital efficiency without giving up self-custody, but its practical adoption will depend on whether providers and traders use the new shared liquidity structure across the supported networks.