1inch is a decentralized exchange (DEX) aggregator that sources liquidity from various exchanges and is capable of splitting a single trade transaction across multiple DEXes. Smart contract technology empowers this aggregator enabling users to optimize and customize their trades.
The 1inch Network was launched at the ETHGlobal New York hackathon in May 2019 with the release of its Aggregation Protocol v1. Since then, the 1inch Network has developed additional DeFi tools such as the Liquidity Protocol, the Limit Order Protocol, P2P transactions, and the 1inch Wallet app.
In August 2020, 1inch got a $2.8 million funding raise from Binance Labs, Galaxy Digital, Greenfield One, Libertus Capital, Dragonfly Capital, FTX, IOSG, LAUNCHub Ventures, and Divergence Ventures.
In December 2020, 1inch raised $12 million in Series A funding, led by Pantera Capital, with others including ParaFi Capital, Blockchain Capital, Nima Capital, and Spartan Group. The funding round was conducted through a SAFT (simple agreement for future tokens) sale.
In December 2021, 1inch has closed a $175 million Series B round, led by Amber Group. Among about 50 investors that participated in the funding event are Jane Street, VanEck, Fenbushi Capital, Alameda Research, Celsius, Nexo, Tribe Capital and Gemini Frontier Fund.
The 1INCH token, launched in December 2020, is the governance and utility token of the 1inch Network. 1INCH holders can stake their tokens to participate in the 1inch Network's DAO governance, including the 1inch DAO Treasury management. Also, holders can choose resolvers and earn a part of their fees.
With the 1inch Fusion, users can stake 1INCH tokens to receive Unicorn Power (UP), then subsequently delegate their UP to any 1inch Fusion Resolver to start receiving rewards from them. When staking, there is the option to set a custom or preset lock period. User’s st1INCH tokens cannot be unstaked/withdrawn without penalty until the designated lock period expires.
