# Uniswap

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Decentralized cryptocurrency exchange

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Uniswap Other names UNI Original author Hayden Adams Developer Uniswap Labs Release November 2018 Stable release v4 / January 31, 2025; 17 months ago (2025-01-31) Written in Solidity Platform Avalanche Base Ethereum Polygon Type Decentralized exchange License GNU General Public License v3.0 Website uniswap.org Repository github.com/Uniswap/v4-core

**Uniswap** is a [decentralized](/source/Decentralization) [cryptocurrency exchange](/source/Cryptocurrency_exchange) protocol built on the [Ethereum](/source/Ethereum) [blockchain](/source/Blockchain). It enables the automated trading of digital assets through [smart contracts](/source/Smart_contract), eliminating the need for intermediaries or centralized order books. Uniswap facilitates [cryptocurrency tokens](/source/Cryptocurrency) swaps using liquidity pools contributed by users.

The protocol, which runs on [open-source software](/source/Open-source_software), was launched in 2018. As of December 2024[\[update\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Uniswap&action=edit), Uniswap is estimated to be the second largest decentralized exchange and the seventh-largest [cryptocurrency exchange](/source/Cryptocurrency_exchange) overall by daily [trading volume](/source/Volume_(finance)).[1][2]

## History

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Uniswap was created on November 2, 2018[3] by Hayden Adams,[4] a former mechanical engineer at [Siemens](/source/Siemens).[1] Adams is the [founder](/source/Founder_CEO) and [CEO](/source/Chief_executive_officer) of Uniswap Labs, the company responsible for the development of the **Uniswap Protocol**, a decentralized [exchange](/source/Cryptocurrency_exchange) (DEX) built on the [Ethereum blockchain](/source/Ethereum).[5] Adams launched Uniswap in November 2018, after working as a [mechanical engineer](/source/Mechanical_engineering)[6] and being inspired by a [blog](/source/Blog) post written by [Vitalik Buterin](/source/Vitalik_Buterin), the co-founder of [Ethereum](/source/Ethereum).[7] His goal was to create a decentralized platform for exchanging [tokens](/source/Cryptocurrency) without relying on [centralized](/source/Centralisation) exchanges.

Uniswap operates using open-source software on [blockchain](/source/Blockchain) networks, and allows users to exchange cryptocurrencies directly from their wallets. Governance of the protocol is managed by holders of its native governance token, UNI, which was introduced in 2020 and distributed retroactively to early users. While UNI is used to vote on protocol upgrades and changes, it is not required to use the platform.[8] Uniswap introduced the Automated [Market Maker](/source/Market_maker) (AMM) model, which allows users to trade [cryptocurrencies](/source/Cryptocurrency) directly from their [wallets](/source/Cryptocurrency_wallet).[9]

### Uniswap Labs

Uniswap Labs is a software company founded in 2018 by [Hayden Adams](/source/Hayden_Adams).[9] The company's early investors included venture capital firms like [Andreessen Horowitz](/source/Andreessen_Horowitz), [Paradigm Operations](/source/Paradigm_Operations),[10][11] [Union Square Ventures](/source/Union_Square_Ventures) LLC and ParaFi.[1][12]

In 2022 Uniswap Labs had raised $165 million, after announcing in 2021 that it was looking to raise between $100 and $200 million and was working with Polychain.[13]

Uniswap offers products such as a self-custodial mobile [wallet](/source/Cryptocurrency_wallet), a trading [API](/source/API) for professional users, and a [web interface](/source/User_interface). These tools provide access to liquidity across multiple [blockchains](/source/Blockchain), including [Ethereum](/source/Ethereum), [Polygon](/source/Polygon_(blockchain)), and [Optimism](/source/Optimism_(blockchain)).[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*]

### Uniswap Foundation

The Uniswap Foundation was founded in 2022 by Devin Walsh and Ken Ng, after 95% of Uniswap token holders voted in favor of the proposal.[14] The Foundation facilitates community governance of the Uniswap DAO, development of the Uniswap Protocol, and communication among contributors.[15] Uniswap Foundation's most recent funding proposal, Uniswap Unleashed, outlined a plan to make the Uniswap Protocol the world’s infrastructure for digital value transfer with significant support for Uniswap v4 and Unichain.[16] It passed with overwhelming support.[17]

Uniswap Foundation [logo](/source/Logo)

## Protocol

[Constant product formula](/source/Constant_function_market_maker)[18]

Uniswap acts as an automated [market maker](/source/Market_maker) and uses liquidity pools to fulfill orders, instead of relying on a traditional market maker, with an aim to create more efficient markets.[19][20][1] Individuals and bots—termed "[liquidity providers](/source/Market_maker)"—provide liquidity to the exchange by adding a pair of tokens to a smart contract which can be bought and sold by other users according to the [constant-product rule](/source/Constant_function_market_maker) ϕ ( x , y ) = x y {\displaystyle \phi (x,y)=xy} .[21] In return, liquidity providers are given a percentage of the trading [fees](/source/Fee) earned for that trading pair. For each trade, a certain amount of tokens is removed from the pool for an amount of the other token, thereby changing the price. No fees are required to list tokens.[1]

In December 2025, Uniswap governance approved the “UNIfication” proposal, enabling protocol fees (the “fee switch”) and introducing a deflationary mechanism tied to protocol revenue.[22] Under the rollout described by Uniswap, Uniswap v2 pools would shift from a 0.30% liquidity-provider fee to 0.25% for liquidity providers plus a 0.05% protocol fee, while selected Uniswap v3 pools would route a portion of LP fees to the protocol depending on the pool’s fee tier; the proposal also included a one-time burn of 100 million UNI from the treasury after a timelock period and an ongoing burn mechanism funded by protocol fees (including sequencer revenue from Unichain after costs and allocations).[23][24]

## UNI token

UNI is the [governance token](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Governance_token&action=edit&redlink=1) of the Uniswap protocol, enabling holders to participate in the platform's decentralized [governance](/source/Governance).

The token allows holders to propose and vote on protocol upgrades, changes to [fee](/source/Fee) structures, and other governance-related matters. UNI operates on the Ethereum blockchain following the ERC-20 standard, ensuring compatibility with a wide range of [decentralized applications](/source/Decentralized_application). Its total supply is capped, with a scheduled release over several years to support ongoing development and ecosystem growth.[25]

## See also

- [PancakeSwap](/source/PancakeSwap)

- [List of bitcoin companies](/source/List_of_bitcoin_companies)

## References

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-bloomberg20201016_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-bloomberg20201016_1-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-bloomberg20201016_1-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-bloomberg20201016_1-3) [***e***](#cite_ref-bloomberg20201016_1-4) ["DeFi Boom Makes Uniswap Most Sought-After Crypto Exchange"](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-10-16/defi-boom-makes-uniswap-most-sought-after-crypto-exchange). *Bloomberg.com*. 16 October 2020.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** ["Crypto Exchange Gets Millions After Copy-Paste of a Rival's Code"](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-09-11/-come-to-jesus-moment-for-crypto-finance-apps-rocks-valuations). *Bloomberg.com*. 11 September 2020.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Adams, Hayden (11 February 2019). ["A short history of Uniswap"](https://uniswap.org/blog/uniswap-history/). *Uniswap*.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** ["Hayden Adams"](https://www.forbes.com/profile/hayden-adams/). *[Forbes](/source/Forbes)*.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** ["Who is Hayden Adams? Founder of Uniswap"](https://metaschool.so/articles/hayden-adams-founder-uniswap-profile-2#:~:text=Hayden%20Adams%20was%20born%20on,Bachelor%20in%20Engineering%20in%202016.). *Metaschool*. 5 January 2023.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** ["Hayden Adams"](https://golden.com/wiki/Hayden_Adams-4NRA5KE). *Golden*.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** Adams, Hayden (2019-11-05). ["🦄 Uniswap Birthday Blog — V0"](https://medium.com/uniswap/uniswap-birthday-blog-v0-7a91f3f6a1ba). *Uniswap*. Retrieved 2025-05-14.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** Crypto Confidential. ["Stimulus Checks From A Crypto Exchange; Bitcoin Rebound"](https://www.forbes.com/sites/cryptoconfidential/2020/09/20/stimulus-checks-from-a-crypto-exchange-bitcoin-rebound/?sh=2f66301178d5). *Forbes*.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-economist.com_9-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-economist.com_9-1) ["A crypto-exchange founder makes his case for decentralised finance"](https://www.economist.com/by-invitation/2022/12/06/a-crypto-exchange-founder-makes-his-case-for-decentralised-finance). *The Economist*. [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [0013-0613](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0013-0613). Retrieved 2024-12-13.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** Gara, Antoine. ["From Wall Street's Greatest Trade To The Top Dealmakers And Financial Entrepreneurs: 30 Under 30 In Finance 2021"](https://www.forbes.com/sites/antoinegara/2020/12/01/from-wall-streets-greatest-trade-to-the-top-dealmakers-and-financial-entrepreneurs-30-under-30-in-finance-2021/?sh=3962d9013b10). *Forbes*.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** del Castillo, Michael. ["11 Bitcoin And Blockchain Leaders Made Forbes 30 Under 30 List"](https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaeldelcastillo/2020/12/01/10-bitcoin-and-blockchain-leaders-who-made-forbes-30-under-30-list/?sh=75e45a942198). *Forbes*.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-bloomberg20200929_12-0)** ["Novogratz Plows Ahead In DeFi Amid the 'Gamifying' of Crypto"](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-09-29/novogratz-plows-ahead-in-defi-amid-the-gamifying-of-crypto). *Bloomberg.com*. 29 September 2020.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-13)** Singh, Manish (2022-10-13). ["Uniswap Labs valued at $1.66 billion in $165 million new funding"](https://techcrunch.com/2022/10/13/uniswap-labs-raises-165-million-in-new-funding/). *TechCrunch*. Retrieved 2024-12-13.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-14)** ["S2:E8 Uniswap Foundation: Behind the Scenes with Devin Walsh"](https://www.archetype.fund/media/s2-e8-uniswap-foundation-behind-the-scenes-with-devin-walsh). *www.archetype.fund*. Retrieved 2025-05-14.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-15)** Adejumo, Oluwapelumi (2025-04-02). ["Compound looks to emulate Uniswap with new foundation initiative"](https://cryptoslate.com/compound-looks-to-emulate-uniswap-with-new-foundation-initiative/). *CryptoSlate*. Retrieved 2025-05-14.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-16)** ["\[Governance Proposal\] Uniswap Unleashed: Unichain and Uniswap v4 Liquidity Incentives"](https://gov.uniswap.org/t/governance-proposal-uniswap-unleashed-unichain-and-uniswap-v4-liquidity-incentives/25250). *Uniswap Governance*. 2025-02-14. Retrieved 2025-05-14.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-17)** Hitchcock, Decrypt / Logan (2025-03-20). ["Uniswap Foundation Gets $177 Million in Funding as Ethereum DeFi Users Await Fee Sharing"](https://decrypt.co/310912/uniswap-177-million-funding-fee-sharing). *Decrypt*. Retrieved 2025-05-14.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-18)** ["How Uniswap works"](https://docs.uniswap.org/contracts/v2/concepts/protocol-overview/how-uniswap-works). *Uniswap Docs*.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-19)** Lo, Yuen; Medda, Francesca (3 November 2020). ["Uniswap and the rise of the decentralized exchange"](https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/103925/). *Mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de*.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-forbesharvard_20-0)** Konrad, Alex. ["These Young Investors Are Still Betting Big On Crypto — And Are Taking Harvard And Stanford Along For The Ride"](https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexkonrad/2020/10/18/these-young-investors-betting-big-on-crypto-are-taking-harvard-and-stanford-along-for-the-ride/?sh=5e9280d4212d). *Forbes*.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-univ3_21-0)** Adams, Hayden; Zinsmeister, Noah (March 2021). ["Uniswap v3 core"](https://uniswap.org/whitepaper-v3.pdf) (PDF). *Uniswap*.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-ForklogUNIfication_22-0)** ["Uniswap community approved a major protocol economic reform"](https://forklog.com/news/soobshhestvo-uniswap-utverdilo-klyuchevuyu-reformu-ekonomiki-protokola). *ForkLog*. 26 December 2025. Retrieved 4 January 2026.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-DLNewsFeeSwitch_23-0)** ["Uniswap DAO to activate 'fee switch,' burn almost $600m UNI token"](https://www.dlnews.com/articles/defi/uniswap-dao-to-activate-fee-switch-and-burn-100m-uni-tokens/). *DL News*. 26 December 2025. Retrieved 4 January 2026.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-24)** Андреева, Мирослава (2025-12-26). ["Сообщество Uniswap утвердило ключевую реформу экономики протокола - ForkLog: криптовалюты, ИИ, сингулярность, будущее"](https://forklog.com/news/soobshhestvo-uniswap-utverdilo-klyuchevuyu-reformu-ekonomiki-protokola). *ForkLog* (in Russian). Retrieved 2026-01-04.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-25)** ["Introducing UNI"](https://blog.uniswap.org/uni). *Uniswap Labs Blog*.

## External links

- [Uniswap Protocol](https://app.uniswap.org/)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Uniswap](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uniswap) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uniswap?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.