DEXs Leave $1.6B Idle as 1inch Pushes Aqua Protocol
What happened: A Dune Analytics study commissioned by 1inch found that about $1.
What happened: A Dune Analytics study commissioned by 1inch found that about $1.6 billion in concentrated liquidity on major DEXs sits idle, with $542 million weekly entirely out-of-range and earning no fees. The research, covering Uniswap v3/v4, PancakeSwap v3, and Aerodrome Slipstream, estimates $150 million in annual fees are foregone due to underutilization. Individual wallets, not contract-managed positions, account for the vast majority of this inefficiency.
Why it matters: The findings highlight persistent inefficiencies in DeFi capital deployment, especially as DEXs shift to concentrated liquidity models. The study’s timing is notable: 1inch is preparing to launch its "Aqua" protocol, which aims to address exactly this problem. While the data is robust, the framing serves 1inch’s product narrative, and the real-world cost of keeping liquidity active (gas, rebalancing) complicates the "lost fees" calculation.
Source: CoinDesk