Is the 1inch team a master of swing trading? Participating in spot trading with seemingly guaranteed profits

By 1912212.eth, Foresight News

The market is ever-changing. Countless well-known traders have come and gone, briefly stepping into the crypto spotlight by drawing widespread attention with massive positions and high leverage. Yet under highly volatile conditions, it's common to see them rise quickly—only to vanish just as fast. James Wynn disappeared from the scene after repeatedly losing tens of millions in futures contracts. The so-called insider trader "@qwatio" had his multi-million dollar short position wiped out by a violent market rebound. Consistent winners in the derivatives market are rare.

However, recently, as the crypto market recovers and 1inch surges, murmurs have spread across the community praising the 1inch team for their skill in spot market trading. But what’s the real story?

Mastering Buy Low, Sell High

Founded in 2019 by Sergej Kunz and Anton Bukov, 1inch was created to tackle the problem of fragmented liquidity in decentralized finance. The platform aggregates liquidity from multiple DEXs such as Uniswap and SushiSwap, ensuring users get the best possible exchange rates. The 1inch Investment Fund, managed by the core team, oversees the treasury and strategic investments, frequently making bold moves that influence the price of the 1INCH token and broader market sentiment.

Since the previous market cycle, the 1INCH token has declined steadily from $6 to around $0.3 today—a deeply underperforming asset. Yet the team has turned buying and selling their own token into an art form.

Unlike retail traders chasing hype, the 1inch team focuses on value accumulation and opportunistic trading.

This approach has drawn criticism over potential insider advantages, but supporters argue it reflects strong execution. As of July 2025, amid a recovering crypto market, their performance stands as a vivid example of resilience and timing. (0x225d3822de44e58ee935440e0c0b829c4232086e)

• On the afternoon of July 10, the investment fund purchased 4.12 million 1INCH tokens ($880,000), followed by transferring 2 million USDT to Binance, when the 1INCH price was at $0.20;

• On the evening of July 11, according to on-chain analyst Ai Ya, the 1inch team appeared to purchase another 11.81 million 1INCH tokens worth $3.3 million at a price of $0.28. The address now holds 83.97 million 1INCH tokens, valued at $23.72 million;

• On the afternoon of July 13, after transferring USDT to Binance earlier, the team withdrew 6.334 million 1INCH tokens back. By this point, the 1inch Investment Fund had spent $13.64 million since February to accumulate 55.85 million 1INCH tokens at an average price of $0.244, realizing several million dollars in unrealized gains;

• At around 10 PM on July 13, the team sold 904,000 1INCH tokens at $0.33, receiving $298,000. Earlier that day at 7 PM, they had transferred 2 million USDC into the wallet;

• Since the fund began buying on July 10, the 1INCH price has risen from around $0.20 to over $0.39 on July 13—an almost 100% increase.

If this was merely effortless buy-low-sell-high action on their own token, their bold BTC purchases earlier this year—made against the prevailing market trend—are truly astonishing.

The 1inch Investment Fund fully exited its WBTC position between February 2 and March 10, having bought 160.8 WBTC at an average price of $88,395. It sold all holdings at an average of $94,219, generating a profit of $936,000.

The red box highlights a period of intense market fear from February to late April, when many declared the bull market over. To add exposure during such a time demonstrates remarkable courage and foresight.

Success Through Execution, Not Chasing

One of the earliest notable trades by the 1inch team dates back to late 2023, when they executed a near-perfect "arbitrage-style" move on Uniswap's UNI token. On November 17, 2023, the 1inch Investment Fund sold 416,924 UNI tokens at an average price of $5.11, receiving approximately $2.13 million in USDC. A few days later, they repurchased 420,828 UNI tokens for the same amount at $5.06—slightly more than before. Then, within just five hours of the buyback, they sold all the tokens at $6.29 as prices rose, receiving about $2.65 million in USDC—a net profit of roughly $516,000. This trade showcased their ability to turn minor price fluctuations into substantial returns through precise timing.

What makes the 1inch team so skilled at trading? First, their deep understanding of DeFi mechanisms allows them to identify undervalued opportunities. Second, their counter-cyclical strategy—accumulating during fear and selling during strength—echoes timeless trading wisdom: avoid impatience in low-timeframe trading, where noise drowns out signals. Patience triumphs over frequency. Avoid chasing small scalp profits; focus instead on meaningful volatility. Impulsive, short-term actions often lead to failure. Diversify risk, but don’t overdo it.

The 1inch team aren't lucky gamblers—they achieve buy-low-sell-high results through data, technology, and discipline. Tracking shows they’ve consistently profited and influenced markets throughout the turbulence of 2023–2025. For retail investors, this serves as a reminder: success comes from execution, not chasing. Going forward, their trading activity will remain highly watched by the market.