1inch Price

What Is 1inch?

1inch is a decentralized exchange aggregator, a service that searches many decentralized exchanges at once to find the best price for a token swap. When you trade through it, 1inch can split your order across several pools on exchanges such as Uniswap so you get more tokens back after fees. It runs on Ethereum and, by its own count, 18 or more networks in all.

1INCH is the project's governance token. Holders stake it to vote on proposals in the 1inch DAO, the community body that controls the protocol's treasury and settings.

Sergej Kunz and Anton Bukov built the first version of 1inch at an ETHGlobal hackathon in New York that began on May 19, 2019. The 1INCH token followed on December 25, 2020. Kunz is still CEO of the company that develops the 1inch apps, while a Cayman Islands foundation supports the DAO.

How 1inch Works

1inch offers two main ways to swap. Classic swaps route your trade across many liquidity pools in one transaction. Fusion mode works differently: you sign an order, and professional market makers called resolvers compete to fill it and pay the network fee themselves. Fusion+ extends that idea to swaps between different blockchains.

The 1INCH supply is capped at 1.5 billion. According to the project's token transparency filing, the mint function was permanently disabled in April 2022, and every scheduled allocation has now vested, with the last team and community tranches unlocking in late 2024. The original split gave 30% to community incentives, 22.5% to the team, 30.7% to early backers across two rounds, 14.5% to a network growth fund and 2.3% to advisors and small backers.

Holders who stake 1INCH lock it for one month to two years and receive non-transferable st1INCH. Staking also grants Unicorn Power, a voting weight that rises with longer locks and shrinks as the lock runs down. Unicorn Power can be used to vote or delegated to a resolver, and resolvers share rewards with delegators, though the filing says delegation is currently paused. The filing says there are no buybacks and no fee sharing with token holders.

What People Use It For

Swapping tokens is the main use. Wallet users connect to the 1inch app to trade at aggregated prices, and other apps and wallets route their swaps through 1inch's API in the background.

Fusion mode appeals to traders who don't want to hold ETH or another coin just to pay network fees. 1inch says Fusion also blocks front-running, where bots trade ahead of a pending order. Fusion+ lets users swap between chains without running a bridge transfer themselves.

The 1INCH token is used mainly for governance. Stakers vote on 1inch Improvement Proposals, such as changes to how resolvers qualify for order flow, and they can delegate Unicorn Power to resolvers to earn 1INCH rewards. 1inch also runs a self-custody wallet with swaps built in.

Risks To Know

1inch has been caught up in exploits. On March 5, 2025, an attacker abused an obsolete Fusion v1 settlement contract that some resolvers still used and took about $5 million from a market maker, according to Halborn. Most of it was returned minus a bounty, and 1inch said no end users were affected. In May 2026, the same attacker drained about $6.7 million from TrustedVolumes, a 1inch resolver, through that firm's own contract, The Block reported. 1inch said its systems were not hit. See our crypto hacks tracker.

The token captures little of the business. The filing says the fees users see go to the development company, not the DAO treasury or token holders, so demand for 1INCH rests on governance and staking.

Staking carries a penalty of up to 90% for unlocking early. 1inch's own sources also disagree on delegation: its help center still describes delegating Unicorn Power to resolvers for rewards, while the June 2026 token transparency filing says the delegation function is paused. Check the staking app before you count on delegation rewards.

How To Buy 1inch

1INCH is listed on several US exchanges: Coinbase, Kraken, Binance.US and Crypto.com. Binance.US currently trades it only against USDT, and Kraken doesn't serve New York or Maine. Gemini and Bitstamp don't list it. OKX lists 1INCH on its global exchange, but check whether OKX's US platform offers it. International buyers can also use KuCoin, MEXC and Gate.

You can also swap for 1INCH in the 1inch app itself with a self-custody wallet, which our walkthrough of how to invest in 1inch explains. The table below shows what your money actually gets you at each exchange.

1inch And Your Taxes

The IRS treats 1INCH as property, so selling it or swapping it for another token creates a capital gain or loss. Rewards paid to stakers who delegate to resolvers count as ordinary income at their value when you gain control of them, under Revenue Ruling 2023-14. Each swap you make through the 1inch app is also a taxable trade. Read more on how crypto taxes work.

FAQ

Is 1inch A Good Investment?

That depends on your goals and risk tolerance. 1inch is one of the longest-running DEX aggregators, its supply is capped and fully vested, and staking gives holders a governance vote. Against that, swap fees don't flow to token holders, older contracts have been exploited, and early unstaking carries a heavy penalty. Weigh those points and your time frame before buying.

What Is The Max Supply Of 1INCH?

1INCH has a maximum supply of 1.5 billion tokens. The minting function was disabled in April 2022, so no new tokens can be created. About 6% circulated at launch in December 2020, and the rest vested over four years, with the final scheduled unlocks in late 2024.

Who Created 1inch?

Sergej Kunz and Anton Bukov created 1inch at an ETHGlobal hackathon in New York in May 2019, building the first version in 56 hours. Kunz remains CEO of the company behind the 1inch apps. The protocol's treasury and settings are governed by 1INCH stakers through the 1inch DAO.

What Is Unicorn Power?

Unicorn Power is the voting weight you get for staking 1INCH. Longer locks, up to two years, give more of it, and it declines as your lock approaches expiry. You can use it to vote on DAO proposals or delegate it to a Fusion resolver, which pays delegators rewards in 1INCH. Delegating requires a network fee, and the project's June 2026 transparency filing says delegation is paused, so confirm it's open in the staking app first.

Can I Buy 1inch In An IRA?

There's no US 1INCH ETF, so you can't hold it in a regular brokerage IRA. Some self-directed crypto IRA providers let you buy individual coins, so check whether 1INCH is on their list. Our list of crypto IRA providers compares the options and their fees.

Where Can I Buy 1INCH In The US?

Coinbase, Kraken, Binance.US and Crypto.com list 1INCH for US customers. Kraken isn't available in New York or Maine, and Binance.US offers only a USDT pair. You can also swap for it through the 1inch app with your own wallet. Compare the full cost in the table above and our ranking of the best crypto exchanges.