View source for Uniswap

{{primary sources|date=February 2025}}
{{short description|Decentralized cryptocurrency exchange}}
{{Infobox software
| name = 
| screenshot = Uniswap's web application interface (December 2024).png
| logo = Uniswap Logo and Wordmark.svg
| logo upright = 
| caption = Uniswap's web application interface
| other_names = UNI
| author = Hayden Adams
| developer = Uniswap Labs
| released = November 2018
| latest release version = v3
| latest release date = {{Start date and age|2021|05|05}}
| repo = {{URL|https://github.com/Uniswap/uniswap-v3-core}}
| programming language = [[Solidity]]
| platform = [[Avalanche (blockchain platform)|Avalanche]] <br/> [[Base (layer 2)|Base]] <br/> [[Ethereum]] <br/> [[Polygon (blockchain)|Polygon]]
| genre = [[Decentralized exchange]]
| license = [[GNU General Public License#version_3|GNU General Public License v3.0]]
| website = {{URL|uniswap.org}}
}}

'''Uniswap''' is a [[Decentralization|decentralized]] [[cryptocurrency exchange]] that uses a set of [[smart contract]]s to create liquidity pools for the execution of trades. It is an [[open source]] project and falls into the category of a DeFi product ([[Decentralized finance]]) because it uses smart contracts to facilitate trades instead of a [[Centralisation|centralized]] exchange. <!-- it seems to also be the name of the non-profit org that now employs developers to fix bugs and upgrade the protocol, but does not seem to fully "control" the protocol -->The protocol facilitates automated transactions between [[Cryptocurrency|cryptocurrency tokens]] on the [[Ethereum]] [[blockchain]] through the use of smart contracts. {{As of|2024|December}}, Uniswap is estimated to be the second largest decentralized exchange and the seventh-largest [[cryptocurrency exchange]] overall by daily [[Volume (finance)|trading volume]].<ref name="bloomberg20201016">{{Cite web |date=16 October 2020 |title=DeFi Boom Makes Uniswap Most Sought-After Crypto Exchange |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-10-16/defi-boom-makes-uniswap-most-sought-after-crypto-exchange |website=Bloomberg.com |language=en}}</ref>

==History==
{{advert|section|date=December 2024}}

Uniswap was created on November 2, 2018<ref>{{Cite web |last=Adams |first=Hayden |title=A short history of Uniswap |url=https://uniswap.org/blog/uniswap-history/ |website=Uniswap |date=11 February 2019 |language=en}}</ref> by Hayden Adams,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Hayden Adams |url=https://www.forbes.com/profile/hayden-adams/ |website=[[Forbes]]}}</ref> a former mechanical engineer at [[Siemens]].<ref name=bloomberg20201016 /> Adams is the [[Founder CEO|founder]] and [[Chief executive officer|CEO]] of Uniswap Labs, the company responsible for the development of the [[Uniswap|'''Uniswap Protocol''']], a [[Decentralization|decentralized]] [[Cryptocurrency exchange|exchange]] (DEX) built on the [[Ethereum|Ethereum blockchain]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Who is Hayden Adams? Founder of Uniswap |url=https://metaschool.so/articles/hayden-adams-founder-uniswap-profile-2#:~:text=Hayden%20Adams%20was%20born%20on,Bachelor%20in%20Engineering%20in%202016. |website=Metaschool| date=5 January 2023 }}</ref> Adams launched Uniswap in November 2018, after working as a [[Mechanical engineering|mechanical engineer]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Hayden Adams |url=https://golden.com/wiki/Hayden_Adams-4NRA5KE |website=Golden}}</ref> and being inspired by a [[blog]] post written by [[Vitalik Buterin]], the co-founder of [[Ethereum]].{{citation needed|date=December 2024}} His goal was to create a decentralized platform for exchanging [[Cryptocurrency|tokens]] without relying on [[Centralisation|centralized]] exchanges. 

Adams had no prior experience in [[Blockchain|blockchain technology]] or [[software development]] but taught himself through online resources. His innovative work on Uniswap has played a key role in the growth of [[decentralized finance]] (DeFi) by introducing the '''[[Automation|Automated]] [[Market maker|Market]]''' [[Market maker|Maker]] (AMM) model, which allows users to trade [[Cryptocurrency|cryptocurrencies]] directly from their [[Cryptocurrency wallet|wallets]].<ref>{{Cite news |title=A crypto-exchange founder makes his case for decentralised finance |url=https://www.economist.com/by-invitation/2022/12/06/a-crypto-exchange-founder-makes-his-case-for-decentralised-finance |access-date=2024-12-13 |newspaper=The Economist |issn=0013-0613}}</ref>

The Uniswap company received investments from [[angel investor | business angel]] Ric Burton and venture capital firms, including [[Andreessen Horowitz]], [[Paradigm Operations]],<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gara |first=Antoine |title=From Wall Street's Greatest Trade To The Top Dealmakers And Financial Entrepreneurs: 30 Under 30 In Finance 2021 |url=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 |website=Forbes |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=del Castillo |first=Michael |title=11 Bitcoin And Blockchain Leaders Made Forbes 30 Under 30 List |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaeldelcastillo/2020/12/01/10-bitcoin-and-blockchain-leaders-who-made-forbes-30-under-30-list/?sh=75e45a942198 |website=Forbes |language=en}}</ref> [[Union Square Ventures]] LLC and ParaFi.<ref name="bloomberg20201016" /><ref name="bloomberg20200929">{{Cite web |date=29 September 2020 |title=Novogratz Plows Ahead In DeFi Amid the 'Gamifying' of Crypto |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-09-29/novogratz-plows-ahead-in-defi-amid-the-gamifying-of-crypto |website=Bloomberg.com |language=en}}</ref>  Uniswap’s average daily trading volume was US$220 million in October 2020.<ref name="bloomberg20201016" /> Traders and investors have utilized Uniswap because of its usage in [[decentralized finance]] (DeFi).<ref name="bloomberg20201016" />

===Uniswap Labs===

Uniswap Labs is a [[software company]] in the [[decentralized finance]] (DeFi) space, founded in 2018 by [[Hayden Adams]].<ref>{{Cite news |title=A crypto-exchange founder makes his case for decentralised finance |url=https://www.economist.com/by-invitation/2022/12/06/a-crypto-exchange-founder-makes-his-case-for-decentralised-finance |access-date=2024-12-13 |newspaper=The Economist |issn=0013-0613}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Singh |first=Manish |date=2022-10-13 |title=Uniswap Labs valued at $1.66 billion in $165 million new funding |url=https://techcrunch.com/2022/10/13/uniswap-labs-raises-165-million-in-new-funding/ |access-date=2024-12-13 |website=TechCrunch |language=en-US}}</ref>

Uniswap offers products such as a self-custodial mobile [[Cryptocurrency wallet|wallet]], a Trading [[API]] for professional users, and a [[User interface|web interface]]. These tools provide access to liquidity across multiple [[Blockchain|blockchains]], including [[Ethereum]], [[Polygon (blockchain)|Polygon]], and [[Optimism (blockchain)|Optimism]]. The [[company]] has also collaborated with traditional [[finance]] platforms like [https://www.fireblocks.com/ Fireblocks] to integrate DeFi features into traditional financial systems, thereby expanding its reach to institutional clients.<ref>{{Cite press release |title=Uniswap Labs and Fireblocks Collaborate to Bring DeFi Innovation to TradFi |url=https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241204889966/en/Uniswap-Labs-and-Fireblocks-Collaborate-to-Bring-DeFi-Innovation-to-TradFi |website=[[Business Wire]]}}</ref>

==Overview==
Uniswap is a [[decentralized finance]] protocol that is used to exchange cryptocurrencies and tokens; it is provided on [[blockchain]] networks that run [[open-source software]].<ref name=bloomberg20201016 /><ref>{{Cite web |date=11 September 2020 |title=Crypto Exchange Gets Millions After Copy-Paste of a Rival's Code |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-09-11/-come-to-jesus-moment-for-crypto-finance-apps-rocks-valuations |website=Bloomberg.com |language=en}}</ref> This is in contrast to cryptocurrency exchanges that are run by centralized companies.

Changes to the protocol are voted on by the owners of a native cryptocurrency and governance token called UNI, and then implemented by a team of developers. Uniswap launched without the UNI token, and the token is not needed to trade on the exchange. Tokens were initially distributed to early users of the protocol.<ref>{{Cite web |author=Crypto Confidential |title=Stimulus Checks From A Crypto Exchange; Bitcoin Rebound |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/cryptoconfidential/2020/09/20/stimulus-checks-from-a-crypto-exchange-bitcoin-rebound/?sh=2f66301178d5 |website=Forbes |language=en}}</ref>

[[File:Uniswap Foundation Logo.png|thumb|[[Uniswap Foundation]] [[logo]]]]

==Protocol==
[[File:Constant product formula.png|left|thumb|[[Constant function market maker|Constant product formula]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=How Uniswap works |url=https://docs.uniswap.org/contracts/v2/concepts/protocol-overview/how-uniswap-works |website=Uniswap Docs}}</ref>|184x184px]]
Uniswap acts as an automated [[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.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Lo |first1=Yuen |last2=Medda |first2=Francesca |date=3 November 2020 |title=Uniswap and the rise of the decentralized exchange |url=https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/103925/ |journal=Mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de |language=en}}</ref><ref name="forbesharvard">{{Cite web |last=Konrad |first=Alex |title=These Young Investors Are Still Betting Big On Crypto — And Are Taking Harvard And Stanford Along For The Ride |url=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 |website=Forbes |language=en}}</ref><ref name="bloomberg20201016" /> [[Individual|Individuals]] and [[Algorithm|bots]]—termed "[[Market maker|liquidity providers]]"—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 function market maker|constant-product rule]] <math>\phi(x, y) = xy</math>.<ref name="univ3">{{cite journal |last1=Adams |first1=Hayden |last2=Zinsmeister |first2=Noah |title=Uniswap v3 core |journal=Uniswap |date=March 2021 |url=https://uniswap.org/whitepaper-v3.pdf}}</ref> In return, liquidity providers are given a percentage of the trading [[Fee|fees]] 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 which allow a large amount of Ethereum tokens to be accessible and no registration is required for users.<ref name="bloomberg20201016" /> As [[open-source software]], Uniswap's code can also be [[Fork (software development)|forked]] to create new exchanges.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Osborne |first=Charlie |title=DeFi SushiSwap creator returns $14m in ETH to project after causing token crash |url=https://www.zdnet.com/article/defi-sushiswap-creator-returns-14m-in-eth-after-causing-coin-crash/ |website=ZDNet |language=en}}</ref>



== UNI token ==
[[File:UNI 4 Year Release Schedule.png|thumb|UNI token 4 year release [[schedule]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Introducing UNI |url=https://blog.uniswap.org/uni |website=Uniswap Labs Blog |at=Community Treasury}}</ref>]]
UNI is the [[governance token]] of the Uniswap protocol, enabling holders to participate in the platform's decentralized [[governance]]. Introduced in September 2020, UNI was distributed through an [[Airdrop (cryptocurrency)|airdrop]] to early users of the platform and allocated to various stakeholders, including the development team, [[Investor|investors]], and a [[community]] [[treasury]].

The token allows holders to propose and vote on protocol upgrades, changes to [[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 application|decentralized applications]]. Its total supply is capped, with a scheduled release over several years to support ongoing development and ecosystem growth.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Introducing UNI |url=https://blog.uniswap.org/uni |website=Uniswap Labs Blog}}</ref>[[File:Initial Uniswap token allocation.png|thumb|Initial UNI token allocation]]
== See also ==

* [[Uniswap Labs]]
* [[Liquidity pool (DeFi)|Liquidity Pool]]
* [[Ethereum]]
* [[Decentralized finance|DeFi]]
* [[Cryptocurrency]]
* [[PancakeSwap]]
* [[List of bitcoin companies]]

==References==
<references />

== External links ==
* [https://app.uniswap.org/ Uniswap Protocol]

{{Cryptocurrency exchanges}}

[[Category:Decentralized cryptocurrency exchanges]]
[[Category:Ethereum-based protocols]]
[[Category:Ethereum tokens]]
[[Category:Decentralized autonomous organizations]]