Cost-Effective Crypto Swaps: What Is 1Inch in Crypto? 

Decentralized finance (DeFi) development continues to increase, which is great news for crypto traders who crave choices. But as more decentralized applications (dApps) advertise the “best” trading experiences, it’s becoming more difficult for traders to pick the right peer-to-peer (P2P) platforms for their needs. Even with technologies like trading bots or algorithmic programs, finding the best rates in DeFi takes time, resources, and energy. 

To simplify the swap selection process, the 1Inch protocol created a proprietary aggregation software to instantly analyze and execute DeFi’s most attractive rates. For traders looking into streamlined cryptocurrency trades, using 1Inch has the potential to be a cost-saving game-changer.  

1Inch’s history

In 2019, software engineers Surjey Kunz and Anton Bukov began brainstorming ideas for a software solution to help DeFi traders find the most favorable prices for virtual assets across multiple decentralized exchanges (DEXs). Later that year, they met at New York City’s ETHNewYork hackathon and released a minimum viable product (MVP) for the 1Inch platform. 

Following the positive response at ETHNewYork, Kunz and Bukov continued working on the 1Inch DEX aggregator and launched the protocol for public use on Ethereum in 2020. At the end of 2020, 1Inch released its native 1INCH token for decentralized onchain governance. 

As 1Inch grows, it continues to expand to other blockchains and introduce complementary features to traders, including a mobile crypto wallet, a portfolio tracker, and a liquidity mining protocol. 

How does 1Inch work?

Think of 1Inch as a “swapping search engine” that uses advanced algorithms to scan multiple DEXs and find the best rates for a particular token pair. Using its Pathfinder technology, 1Inch automatically links to dozens of DEXs on different blockchains and analyzes the exchange rates, fees, and volumes to predict which exchanges offer the cheapest rates for traders. If 1Inch can’t find one DEX offering the “best” price, it splits orders into multiple batches on different DEXs to offer reduced rates. These complex decisions occur seamlessly for crypto traders, making it feel like a straightforward exchange of two cryptocurrencies on a single DEX.

1Inch FAQs

What is the 1INCH token?

1INCH is the DeFi token associated with the 1Inch protocol, which is primarily used to govern 1Inch’s decentralized autonomous organization (DAO). Traders with 1INCH tokens can propose and vote on upgrades for the 1Inch ecosystem, providing the dApp with a democratic development procedure. Crypto traders looking for the current 1INCH coin price search for “1INCH price” on crypto exchanges and price aggregators to find the latest 1INCH price chart. 

Is 1Inch only on Ethereum?

At first, 1Inch only worked on Ethereum, but it’s now compatible with several DEXs on other blockchains, including Polygon (MATIC), Optimism (OP), and Avalanche (AVAX). 

How can 1Inch be used for trading? 

Eligible traders need a compatible self-custodial crypto wallet like MetaMask to use the services on 1Inch’s official dApp. After downloading a supported wallet, traders link it to 1Inch’s protocol after launching 1Inch’s dApp at app.1inch.io and explore the offerings available on 1Inch’s protocol. 

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