What is 1inch Network?

By Mohammad Musharraf

Want to start swapping crypto, but getting lost in the complexity of finding the best price? We’ve all been there: from slippage, to gas fees, to finding the cheapest swapping model, choosing the best platform for swapping isn’t so easy. Start to include cross-chain swaps and multiple liquidity pools and you could have yourself in a hot bother! 

But swapping crypto doesn’t need to be complicated. With specific mechanisms, swapping crypto can be affordable, customizable and easy to use—while letting you retain ownership of your assets. That’s exactly why 1inch exists and in combination with Ledger Wallet, you can be sure your swaps are not only effective, but also secure and decentralized. 

So without further ado, let’s dive into 1inch and explain everything you need to know:

What Is 1inch?

1inch is a powerful crypto swapping platform, particularly known for its DEX aggregator. In simple terms it’s a platform that uses multiple decentralized exchanges (DEXs) and liquidity providers alongside powerful protocols so traders can find the most favorable deals across multiple blockchains including Ethereum, Binance Smart Chain, and Polygon. 

Think of it like a hotel aggregator platform such as Trivago. A quick search for a room on these platforms can bring up the best rates across different travel websites all from the same platform. Now, replace the hotels with crypto assets and travel websites with DEXs and liquidity providers, and now you understand exactly what 1inch does.

The History of 1Inch

1inch launched in 2019 as a DEX aggregator, created by Sergej Kunz and Anton Bukov as part of an ETHGlobal hackathon. While at that point it aggregated just a handful of DEXs, it expanded to include hundreds, aiming to give users the best possible prices. 

Initially, it used an 0x-based limit order engine to aggregate these trades, but in 2021 it introduced its own protocol. In 2022 it evolved again, adding intent based swaps, allowing users to specify specific buy and sell orders. Next, in 2024, it incorporated atomic cross-chain capabilities with MEV protection, unlocking more accessible cross-chain swaps. Finally, in 2025, it introduced bridge-free swaps between Solana and EVM networks, aiming to remove complexity from cross-chain swapping.

What is 1inch for?

1inch is not just a DEX aggregator, it’s a whole ecosystem designed specifically to enable seamless swapping across top networks such as Ethereum Mainnet, Arbitrum, Avalanche, BNB Chain, Gnosis, Sonic, Optimism, Polygon, zkSync Era, Base and Unichain. There are three main methods of swapping on the platform. Let’s explore them:

Classic Swaps

1inchClassic swaps use an aggregation protocol to give the user the best prices by compiling prices from multiple DEXs and liquidity providers. It also allows users to customize multiple aspects of their transactions, giving users the most user friendly experience while prioritizing speed and cost-efficiency. Essentially, it’s the product they started with, and it’s still going strong today.

Intents Based Swaps

Intents-based swaps are also available on 1inch. In short, intent-based swaps allow users to specify outcomes of trades called Intents, which are then executed by third-party resolvers incentivized via a dutch auction price curve. This protects from front running (a.k.a. MEV bots) since it uses an alternate method which doesn’t reward jumping the gun to execute trades. It also allows for gas cost abstraction, since you can swap without the need to have native assets—instead, the resolver covers the whole cost of the transaction. 

Intent-based atomic Cross-chain swaps 

The final method of swapping on 1inch is Intent-based atomic cross-chain swaps. Atomic swaps allow for cross-chain swapping without a centralized intermediary. However, 1inch takes this a step further, since with their intents-based atomic swaps, users can also swap across multiple chains without each user’s active involvement: instead the swap is executed completely by offchain resolvers, removing the need to pay gas fees—without compromising on security or decentralization.

How Does 1inch Work?

The platform’s central proposition is finding the best prices for the asset you want to buy by aggregating prices and accessing trading pairs from multiple exchanges. So how does that work exactly?

Pathfinder

To bring everything together in one place, 1inch uses its own aggregation protocol called Pathfinder. This is an algorithm which parses through every possible buy and sell option on multiple decentralized exchanges then, automatically “routes” your transaction via the most cost-effective path. It may use multiple liquidity pools and providers or just a single one, but always aims to find the cheapest and quickest path. 

Doing this manually would cost time and unnecessary complexity—so 1inch handles this for you. Plus, not only does this protocol find the best prices for the user, it also minimizes gas fees, since the Pathfinder also limits redundant transactions and streamlines the swapping process under the hood.

Limit Orders & RFQ Protocol

1inch also uses a protocol to allow for onchain limit orders and Request for Quote (RFQ) orders.  In short, the protocol allows users to customize conditions for executing transactions. 

For example, they might specify the price they want to buy or sell an asset, and when the price reaches that target amount, the transaction will be processed automatically. It also allows for setting stop loss orders, requesting that ETH be unwrapped before or after the transaction, creating private transfers, defining a proxy for handling non-fungible tokens, and much more.

Essentially, it gives you the ability to customize your transactions almost endlessly, specifying exactly what you want to happen before and after the swap.

Dutch Auctions systems for Resolvers

To operate seamless Intents-based swaps for single and cross-chain swaps, 1inch uses offchain resolvers. Essentially, these are decentralized participants that execute transactions for users, taking on the job of finding the best prices and covering gas fees. 

To ensure they find the best prices, these resolvers are incentivized via a dutch auction system, which gradually reduces the prices until the order is fulfilled. This guarantees the order is executed at the lowest possible price for the user and avoids front-running from MEV bots. Plus, the security and compliance of these swaps is always a priority, since the system uses hashlocks, timelocks, and KYC-compliant resolvers.

Governance & Tokenomics on 1inch

1inch is controlled by three key entities which collaborate in a decentralized manner, and all utilize its governance and utility token 1INCH. 

1inch DAO

The first of these entities is the 1inch DAO, which any 1inch user can join.  This decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) uses  a structured multi-phase proposal process, allowing DAO participants to vote on how the network evolves. Voting is facilitated by its governance and utility token 1INCH, using a specialized platform called Snapshot. This allows for gasless voting, making participation accessible to everyone. Once a proposal is passed, it’s then executed by onchain transactions—only once it’s been through multiple rounds of feedback and several formal votes.

1inch Foundation

The 1inch foundation is a core group of participants and experts aiming to bridge the gap between onchain governance and offchain action. Essentially, it manages the 1INCH token’s utility and distribution, making sure it aligns with the platform’s goals. It also handles initiatives such as growing the network community, education and research and providing funding that develop the network and the wider DeFi ecosystem through grants.

1inch core contributors

Finally, the 1inch core contributors are its most crucial contributing developers. These developers help maintain the underlying tech, including its Pathfinder, limit order protocol, resolver system and more.

Benefits of Using 1Inch

1inch provides a number of stand-out benefits to its users. Let’s take a look at some of the main advantages:

Fast, Affordable swaps

One of 1inch’s key benefits is that it saves you time to find the best deal possible. Previously, this would involve laboriously sifting through multiple exchanges. However, 1inch does this in seconds, leveraging its algorithm across countless DEXs and liquidity providers. This means you accomplish the same objective with less time invested.

Avoiding Excess Slippage

Slippage is a key pain point for most traders: it’s the movement in the price of a commodity between the moment you confirm the transaction and the moment the trade actually takes place. On most platforms, you can’t be sure how much you’ll pay by the time your transaction is processed. Using its DEX aggregator and intent-based mechanisms, 1Inch makes it less likely slippage will hinder your transaction—bringing better transparency and accuracy to transaction pricing.

Avoiding gas fees

You’re likely aware of gas fees, the payments you send to validators each time you perform any transaction. On the 1inch platform, these fees are at the lowest price possible using the aggregator, or completely abstracted away using the Intent-based system. 

Abstracting Complexity

Traditionally, swapping funds across multiple chains and using multiple DEXs or liquidity providers would incur huge fees, and cause unnecessary complexity since you’d have to rely on bridges and calculate the different fee structures on separate platforms. With 1inch, you get the best of every platform and every chain in one place—without the stress of initiating trades manually. It also allows you to customize your trades, choosing when and how your trades are executed with minimal input.

Security & Self-Custody

One of the key benefits of using 1inch is that you retain full ownership of your coins while you trade. As a non-custodial platform, you retain ownership over your assets, giving you maximum control and security while you swap.

Risks of using 1inch

Smart Contract Risks

Of course, like all decentralized platforms that use smart contracts, 1inch carries risks. Smart contracts are not infallible: they can contain bugs or vulnerabilities which could potentially be exploited by hackers. To avoid this risk, 1inch undergoes audits to assess the security of its on and offchain mechanisms. That said, you should always exercise caution when interacting with any smart contract platform, so appropriate asset segregation is always a good rule of thumb.

Rogue Participants

1inch relies on specific participants to execute trades. It also uses multiple liquidity providers it cannot control. As such, if these participants go rogue and decide to act maliciously, it could risk your funds. To combat these risks, 1inch ensures that liquidity providers and resolvers pass a comprehensive KYB or KYC process.

How to Use 1inch

Swapping on 1inch is simple and secure, since it’s available in the Swap section of Ledger Wallet. The best thing about it: 1inch offers both DEX Aggregation with Classic Swaps and Intent-based swaps via Fusion—directly in Ledger Wallet. And of course, accessing 1inch via Ledger Wallet guarantees your private keys stay in your hands, meaning you don’t need to compromise ownership to take advantage of the best swapping experience on the market. 

Simply login to Ledger wallet, access 1inch via the secure gateway and approve your actions physically with your Ledger signer to benefit from seamless, speedy swaps with unparalleled security. 

For a step by step guide on how to use 1inch in Ledger Wallet, check out the Help Center article here. And for more info about 1inch, check out the official 1inch website here.

1inch swaps in Ledger Wallet: Seamless, Affordable & Secure

If you’re ready to swap, why not consider 1inch via Ledger Wallet and get the best of all worlds. With 1inch, you’ll have access to affordable swaps with optimized routing through countless DEXs and liquidity providers to get the best price possible. Plus, it even works cross-chain, while making the whole process seamless by abstracting away complexity—including those pesky gas fees. This powerful swapping platform combined with Ledger’s unparalleled security model, including your Ledger signer’s secure screen and physical confirmation, alongside your secure gateway to the 1inch platform via Ledger Wallet, guarantees that seamless, powerful swaps are not just possible, they are easy and secure—without compromising on ownership.

So what are you waiting for? Get swapping with Ledger wallet with ease of use and the confidence of security on your side.