Decentralized exchange (DEX) aggregator 1inch has introduced Aqua, a new liquidity protocol designed to allow DeFi applications to share the same capital base across multiple strategies without compromising user custody.
Developers can now access the Aqua SDK, libraries, and documentation on GitHub, with a full front-end expected to arrive in early 2026, according to a press release shared with CoinDesk.
Aqua introduces what 1inch calls a “shared liquidity layer,” allowing capital from a single wallet to support multiple trading strategies at once. Typically, users must choose a strategy, locking their funds into a specific smart contract.
With Aqua, these same assets remain in the user’s wallet and strategies only tap into them when trades are executed.
“Aqua solves liquidity fragmentation for market makers by multiplying effective capital. Now the only limit to your capital efficiency is your strategy,” said Anton Bukov, co-founder of 1inch. “It’s time to help liquidity providers unlock their potential.”
In practical terms, a liquidity provider could license its tokens for multiple strategies, such as automated market makers (AMM), stablecoin swap pools, or custom logic, all at the same time. Each strategy operates with its own rules and access limits, tracked by Aqua’s accounting system.
The developer preview opens the door for early experimentation. Builders can create their own policies or use 1inch’s partner protocol, SwapVM, to connect to predefined policies.
This model could improve both capital efficiency – the amount of liquidity a wallet can provide, and utility efficiency, the number of DeFi roles the same capital can play at once. Since funds are not locked into a pool, users can simultaneously provide liquidity, vote on governance, or post collateral on lending platforms.
