Uniswap (UNI)

UNI is the governance token of the Uniswap protocol. Uniswap is a decentralised exchange (DEX) protocol that lets users swap tokens through liquidity pools held in smart contracts, with no order book or intermediary. Hayden Adams launched it on Ethereum in November 2018, and it became one of the projects that popularised the automated market maker (AMM) model. It now runs on Ethereum and many other networks.

How does Uniswap work?

Each Uniswap pool holds two tokens, and a formula sets the price based on the ratio between them. When someone buys ETH from a pool with USDC, the pool’s ETH balance falls, its USDC balance rises and the price of ETH in that pool goes up. Larger trades move the price more, which is why pools with deep liquidity offer lower slippage.

People who deposit tokens into pools are called liquidity providers (LPs). The fee charged on each swap is shared among them. In return, LPs take on impermanent loss when the relative price of the pooled tokens changes. Our guide to providing liquidity covers this in more detail.

Uniswap versions

• V2 (May 2020): allowed a direct pool between any two ERC-20 tokens.
• V3 (May 2021): introduced concentrated liquidity, letting LPs place capital within a chosen price range, with positions held as NFTs.
• V4 (January 2025): added “hooks”, plug-ins that give pools custom behaviour, and moved all pools into a single contract.

Uniswap Labs also launched Unichain, an Ethereum layer-2 network, on mainnet in February 2025.

What is UNI used for?

UNI holders vote on proposals covering protocol changes, fee settings and treasury spending, or delegate their voting power to another address. Proposals typically move from forum discussion to an off-chain Snapshot poll and then an on-chain vote, and submitting an on-chain proposal requires a minimum amount of delegated UNI. You do not need UNI to trade on Uniswap; network fees are paid in the chain’s own token, such as ETH on Ethereum. UNI does not give you equity in Uniswap Labs, the company that develops the protocol.

UNI supply and distribution

UNI launched in September 2020 with a genesis supply of 1 billion tokens. Every address that had used Uniswap before then received a 400 UNI airdrop. Of the genesis supply, 60% went to the community, 21.27% to the team, 18.04% to investors and 0.69% to advisers, and the four-year release schedule finished in 2024. Since then, governance can mint up to 2% new UNI per year.

The protocol fee and UNI burning

For years, Uniswap’s swap fees went entirely to LPs, and a “fee switch” that would give the protocol a cut was debated at length. The UNIfication proposal, approved at the end of 2025, switched protocol fees on and directed the fees collected towards burning UNI. Burning reduces supply, while governance decides which pools charge the fee and at what rate.

What are the risks of Uniswap?

Because anyone can create a pool for a new token, fake and scam tokens are common on Uniswap, so always check the official contract address. Spending approvals you grant for swaps can be abused by malicious contracts, so revoke allowances you no longer need. Regulatory risk has also been in the spotlight: the US SEC sent Uniswap Labs a Wells notice in April 2024 and closed its investigation in February 2025.

How to read the market data

The price and market cap on this page refer to the UNI token; Uniswap’s trading volume and the liquidity in its pools are not included. How closely UNI’s price tracks protocol activity depends on how the fee and burn mechanism is applied. To compare market cap with fully diluted value, see our guide to market cap and FDV.

Official sources

• Uniswap: UNI token and governance
• Uniswap: protocol fees and burn flow
• Uniswap: liquidity positions