{{Short description|Decentralized cryptocurrency exchange}} {{Infobox software | name = PancakeSwap | screenshot = Pancakeswap-screenshot.PNG | logo = PancakeSwap logo.png | caption = PancakeSwap's web application interface | developer = | repo = {{URL|https://github.com/pancakeswap}} | programming language = [[Solidity]] | platform = [[Binance#BNB|Binance Smart Chain]] <br/> [[Ethereum]] | genre = [[Decentralized exchange]] | license = [[GNU General Public License#version_3|GNU General Public License v3.0]] | website = {{URL|https://pancakeswap.finance/}} }} '''PancakeSwap''' is a [[decentralized exchange]] (DEX) built on multiple [[blockchain]]s.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ft.com/content/df9f5795-2aaf-4088-a76e-304056db61ef |title=The FT crypto glossary |first=Philip |last=Stafford |date=October 21, 2021|website=[[Financial Times]]}}</ref> It is administered by [[Binance]].<ref name="wsj2025"/>
As of 2024, it is one of the major DEX on [[Binance Smart Chain]] and has more than $2.3B in total value locked.<ref name="Maggio2024"/><ref>{{Cite book |title=Application Architecture Patterns for Web 3.0 |last=Tempesta |first=Stefano |publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]] |year=2024 |isbn=9781040263686 |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Application_Architecture_Patterns_for_We/G2Q0EQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22PancakeSwap%22&pg=PT236&printsec=frontcover}}</ref>
==History== PancakeSwap was founded in 2020 by anonymous developers. Its domain was registered in [[Shanghai]], China.<ref name="wsj2025">{{Cite web|url=https://www.wsj.com/finance/currencies/trump-family-crypto-1e7ab14a |title=The Recipe Behind the Trump Family’s Crypto Riches: PancakeSwap |first1=Angus |last1=Berwick |first2=Patricia |last2=Kowsmann |date=August 12, 2025|website=[[WSJ]]}}</ref> According to former Binance employees, it was created by Binance staff as an extension of its [[centralized exchange]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://newrepublic.com/article/202209/trump-pardon-changpeng-zhao-crypto|title=Trump’s Pardon of His Crypto Pal Is a New Height of Corruption |first=Timothy |last=Noah |date=October 24, 2025 |website=[[The New Republic]]}}</ref>
In June 2025, PancakeSwap formed a joint initiative with [[World Liberty Financial]], a [[decentralized finance]] protocol founded by [[Trump family]], to promote its stablecoin, [[USD1]].<ref name="wsj2025"/> Hundreds of patriotic-sounding [[memecoin]]s, such as Torch of Liberty and Eagles Landing, were created by users of Chinese origin to promote USD1.<ref name="wsj2025"/> PancakeSwap also started a "Liquidity Drive" program, offering prizes of up to $1 million to increase trading of USD1 on its platform.<ref name="wsj2025"/>
==Protocol== PancakeSwap is a [[decentralized finance]] protocol that is used to exchange [[cryptocurrency|cryptocurrencies]] and tokens; it is provided on blockchain networks that run [[open-source software]]. It uses an automated [[market maker]] (AMM) model for trading [[BEP-20]] tokens.<ref name="Maggio2024"/><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ft.com/content/c982082b-c890-4880-b438-f8b3cae83a4b |title=Billionaires Peter Thiel and Alan Howard back new $10bn crypto exchange |first1=Philip |last1=Stafford |first2=Eva |last2=Szalay |date=11 May 2021 |website=[[Financial Times]]}}</ref>
The native token of protocol is CAKE which is used for governance and to incentivize liquidity provision.<ref name="Maggio2024"/> CAKE token holders can participate in governance by voting on proposals that influence the platform's development.<ref name="Maggio2024">{{Cite book |title=Blockchain, Crypto and DeFi: Bridging Finance and Technology |last=Di Maggio |first=Marco |publisher=[[Wiley (publisher)|Wiley]] |year=2024 |isbn=9781394275908 |pages=375–376 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Uq8kEQAAQBAJ|quote=As the leading decentralized exchange (DEX) on BSC, PancakeSwap has carved a niche for itself, offering an attractive alternative to Ethereum-based protocols. Launched in September 2020, PancakeSwap quickly ascended to prominence, capitalizing on the growing demand for DeFi services amid Ethereum network congestion and high gas fees ... At the core of PancakeSwap's ecosystem is the CAKE token, which plays a pivotal role in both incentivizing liquidity provision and empowering users with governance rights. CAKE rewards are distributed to users who provide liquidity to the platform’s various trading pairs, fostering a robust and diverse liquidity pool that underpins the exchange's functionality. Beyond its utility in liquidity mining, the CAKE token allows holders to participate in PancakeSwap's governance, voting on proposals that shape the platform’s development and future direction.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|title=Multi-objective test selection of smart contract and blockchain applications|first1=Bader|last1=Alkhazi|first2=Amin|last2=Alipour|date=October 17, 2023|journal=PeerJ Computer Science|volume=9|article-number=e1587|doi=10.7717/peerj-cs.1587|doi-access=free |pmid=37869450 |pmc=10588722}}</ref>
==See also== {{Portal|Free and open-source software}} *[[Uniswap]]
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== * {{Official website|https://pancakeswap.finance}} * {{GitHub|pancakeswap}}
{{Ethereum}}
[[Category:Decentralized cryptocurrency exchanges]] [[Category:Decentralized autonomous organizations]] [[Category:Ethereum-based protocols]]
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