1inch Network is a DEX aggregator that executes a swap of tokens at the best price in one single transaction. It is a common place that a core problem of all DEXes (decentralized exchanges) is lack of liquidity due to the fact that DEXes are a relatively new concept. First of all, 1inch DEX aggregator is addressing the liquidity problem thus facilitating mass adoption. The optimizing algorithm splits up the trade across different exchanges. This allows you to have the most efficient way to exercise a transaction. 1inch protocol sources liquidity from a broad range of DEXes which truly makes it a single entry point to DeFi (decentralised finance) trading and creates an ecosystem experience.
1inch Network was first developed on the Ethereum mainnet and is currently deployed on Gnosis, BNB Chain, Avalanche, Polygon, Arbitrum, Optimism, Klaytn, Aurora and Fantom networks. Currently, 1inch Networks has 3 protocols: Aggregation Protocol V5, Limit Order Protocol V3 and Spot price aggregator.
The 1INCH token is the governance and utility token of the 1inch Network. The token is applied in different capacities in the existing protocols and will be used in the tokenomics of all new protocols released by the 1inch Network. 1INCH is a multichain token, currently available on Ethereum and on BNB Chain over a bridge.
- Utility: Currently, the main application of 1INCH as a utility token is in the 1inch Liquidity Protocol where it is used as a connector to achieve high-efficiency routing.
- Governance: The 1INCH token is used to govern all of the 1inch Network's current and future protocols. It is utilized in the governance modules of the 1inch Aggregation Protocol and the 1inch Liquidity Protocol.
- Multi-chain: The 1INCH token is currently available on Ethereum and BNB Chain. The BSC integration was implemented over a bridge, with no extra token issuance.
On the release day, 6% of the 1INCH token's total issuance of 1.5 billion was unlocked. The remaining tokens will be gradually unlocked over a four-year period through December 30, 2024.
According to the doc, the 1inch API V5, Pathfinder, is a cutting-edge discovery and routing algorithm, which offers asset exchanges at the best rates on the market. Pathfinder finds the most efficient paths for a token swap, able to split between different protocols and even different market depths in within one protocol in the shortest possible time.
1inch limit order protocol is a set of smart contracts, that can work on any EVM based blockchains (Ethereum, Binance Smart Chain, Polygon, Arbitrum, Optimism, Gnosis chain, Avalanche). Key features of the protocol is extreme flexibility and high gas efficiency that achieved by using two different order types - regular Limit Order and RFQ Order.
The 1inch spot price aggregator is a set of smart contracts that extract price data for tokens traded on DEXes from the blockchain. To avoid price manipulations within a transaction, the spot price aggregator should ONLY be used off-chain.
The 1inch Network was founded in May 2019 by Serjez Kunz and Anton Bukov, two Russian developers with backgrounds in smart contract security. Both Kunz and Bukov attended ETHNewYork's Hackathon where they were experimenting with arbitrage bots and strategy. At the ETH NY hackathon the pair developed their first product, the 1inch Aggregation Protocol. The protocol initially sourced liquidity from Bancor, Kyber, and Uniswap. Since then, the 1inch Network has raised roughly $14.8 million in funding and grown to support nearly 80 different markets across multiple chains.
In December 2020, the 1INCH token was released along with the 1inch DAO, where the token could be staked on the 1inch Exchange granting the right to vote on key protocol parameters and take part in network governance.
