Key Facts
- KuCoin Web3 Wallet announced on 7 May 2026 the integration of the 1inch Swap API to power its in-wallet swap infrastructure for crypto assets and tokenized real-world assets.
- The integration enables eligible gasless swaps, deeper liquidity access, more competitive pricing and built-in MEV protection against front-running and sandwich attacks.
- The deal builds on KuCoin Web3 Wallet’s late-April integration with Ondo Global Markets, which added more than 260 tokenized US equities and ETFs to the self-custodial wallet.
- Quoted on the launch are Gas Meng, Lead of KuCoin Web3 Wallet Operation, and Sergej Kunz, co-founder of 1inch.
- KuCoin Web3 Wallet is positioned as a gateway covering crypto-native assets, native perpetual trading and tokenized securities, with the 1inch integration deepening its execution layer.
KuCoin Web3 Wallet has integrated the 1inch1inch Swap API to upgrade its wallet-native swap infrastructure across both crypto assets and tokenized real-world assets, the company announced on 7 May 2026. The integration adds eligible gasless swaps, deeper liquidity, better pricing and MEV protection — directly extending the execution layer behind the wallet’s late-April integration with Ondo Global Markets.
What the integration changes
The user-facing change is in execution quality. Through the 1inch Swap API, KuCoin Web3 Wallet users can run swaps without holding native gas tokens on the relevant network, with the gas cost handled inside the swap rather than as a separate prerequisite. The API also routes orders across 1inch’s aggregated liquidity, which the firm draws from a broad set of decentralized exchanges, and pairs that routing with built-in MEV protection that reduces exposure to front-running and sandwich attacks.
Each of those features addresses a specific friction point that has historically held back retail and casual users from on-chain swap activity: the need to top up native gas before any first swap, fragmented liquidity that produces poor pricing on smaller pools, and the persistent tax that MEV bots levy on uninformed retail flow. The relevance of those frictions sharpens as tokenized real-world assets move on-chain, because the user demographic for tokenized US equities and ETFs sits closer to brokerage users than to crypto-native traders.
The Ondo and RWA context
The integration is the second leg of KuCoin Web3 Wallet’s RWA push in two weeks. On 30 April 2026, the wallet integrated Ondo Global Markets, adding more than 260 tokenized US stocks and ETFs — including Nvidia, Apple, Tesla, Microsoft and Amazon — to the self-custodial app. That step put RWA exposure inside the wallet; the 1inch integration is what makes the swap layer underneath that exposure work without the usual on-chain friction.
The combination matters more than either step in isolation. Tokenized real-world assets only become broadly usable when the swap experience approximates a brokerage interface. Holding the equity exposure is one piece; entering and exiting positions without paying separate gas in a different token, without leaking value to MEV, and without slippage on thinly traded pools is the other.
Executive comment
Gas Meng, Lead of KuCoin Web3 Wallet Operation, framed the integration around accessibility and trust. “KuCoin Web3 Wallet is built to make self-custody more accessible without compromising security, execution quality, or user trust,” Meng said. “With the integration of the 1inch Swap API, we are able to provide a smoother swap experience backed by better pricing, deeper liquidity, gasless execution, and MEV protection. As we continue expanding support for tokenized TradFi assets, we are helping users engage with on-chain markets through a more secure and trusted wallet experience.”
Sergej Kunz, co-founder of 1inch, framed the deal as a structural fit between self-custody and aggregated liquidity. “The integration of the 1inch Swap API by KuCoin Web3 Wallet embodies what makes DeFi great. It combines their self-custody with our best-in-class liquidity infrastructure, giving users access to RWAs and enabling them to trade seamlessly with no gas or risk of MEV,” Kunz said. “We are pleased to continue supporting the growth of RWAs on-chain.”
Where this fits in KuCoin’s wallet roadmap
KuCoin Web3 Wallet is steadily becoming a multi-product surface rather than a basic self-custody tool. Recent additions include native in-wallet perpetual trading, the Ondo Global Markets RWA layer, and now an aggregated swap and MEV-protection layer powered by 1inch. KuCoin says the wallet plans to continue expanding its in-wallet trading infrastructure on a roadmap aimed at becoming an all-in-one gateway for crypto and real-world asset participation.
That direction is consistent with where major self-custodial wallets have been moving across 2025 and 2026. MetaMask integrated Ondo Global Markets in March 2026, and several wallet products have added in-app DEX aggregation, gasless swap features and MEV protection over the past year. KuCoin’s positioning leans on its existing exchange brand and user base to differentiate from generic wallet products, while keeping the technical execution layer competitive with peers.
FAQ
What does the KuCoin Web3 Wallet 1inch integration provide?
KuCoin Web3 Wallet now uses the 1inch Swap API as the execution layer for in-wallet swaps across supported crypto assets and tokenized real-world assets. The integration enables eligible gasless swaps, deeper aggregated liquidity, more competitive pricing and built-in MEV protection against front-running and sandwich attacks.
How does this build on the Ondo Global Markets integration?
On 30 April 2026, KuCoin Web3 Wallet integrated Ondo Global Markets, adding more than 260 tokenized US stocks and ETFs to the self-custodial wallet, including Nvidia, Apple, Tesla, Microsoft and Amazon. The 1inch Swap API integration upgrades the swap infrastructure underneath that exposure, so users can enter and exit those positions with a smoother on-chain experience.
What is MEV protection?
MEV — or Maximal Extractable Value — refers to the value extracted from users by re-ordering, inserting or censoring transactions in a block. The 1inch Swap API includes safeguards designed to reduce exposure to MEV-driven attacks such as front-running and sandwich attacks, which would otherwise reduce execution quality on retail-sized swaps.
The strategic point of the 1inch integration is straightforward: a self-custodial wallet that holds tokenised US equities is only as useful as its swap layer. By bolting 1inch’s aggregator onto a wallet that already houses Ondo’s RWA catalogue, KuCoin closes the gap between holding tokenised exposure and trading it on terms close to what a brokerage user would expect — and continues a pattern across the major wallets in 2026 of trying to make on-chain market access feel less like crypto, and more like a regular financial app.
