Uniswap (UNI) UNI

Uniswap (UNI) is the governance token of the Uniswap Protocol, a decentralized exchange protocol that runs on Ethereum and many other networks. The protocol lets anyone swap tokens directly from a wallet, without an order book or a company holding the funds. UNI holders vote on how the protocol evolves, and since December 2025 they have also approved a fee switch tied to UNI burns.

What is Uniswap?

Uniswap was launched on 2 November 2018 by Hayden Adams, now CEO of Uniswap Labs. Instead of matching buyers and sellers, it uses an automated market maker (AMM): traders swap against liquidity pools funded by other users, and prices follow a mathematical formula based on the pool’s balances. The protocol is a set of smart contracts that nobody can switch off, while Uniswap Labs builds the best-known interface, wallet and APIs on top of it.

How Uniswap and the UNI token work

When you trade on Uniswap, you pay a fee that goes to the liquidity providers of that pool. Each new version changed how that liquidity is managed:

• **v1 (November 2018)** and **v2 (May 2020):** simple pools pairing two tokens, with a 0.30% swap fee on v2.
• **v3 (5 May 2021):** concentrated liquidity, so providers can choose the price range where their capital works.
• **v4 (31 January 2025):** a single contract for all pools and “hooks”, small plug-ins that let developers customise pool behaviour.

UNI itself is an ERC-20 token. According to the launch announcement, 1 billion UNI were minted at genesis: 60% for the community, about 21.3% for the team, about 18% for investors and 0.69% for advisors, with four-year vesting for insiders. The launch plan also foresaw a 2% yearly inflation starting after four years. Holders, or the delegates they choose, vote on proposals that control the treasury, fee parameters and deployments to new chains.

Key dates

• **2 November 2018:** Uniswap v1 goes live on Ethereum.
• **16 September 2020:** UNI launches; every address that had used Uniswap receives 400 UNI in a retroactive airdrop.
• **5 May 2021:** v3 introduces concentrated liquidity.
• **2022:** the Uniswap Foundation is created after a governance vote to support grants and development.
• **4 September 2024:** Uniswap Labs settles with the US CFTC over leveraged token trading via its interface and pays a $175,000 penalty.
• **31 January 2025:** v4 launches with hooks.
• **February 2025:** Unichain, an Ethereum layer 2 built by Uniswap on the OP Stack, opens its mainnet.
• **10 November 2025:** Uniswap Labs and the Uniswap Foundation publish “UNIfication”, which turns on protocol fees, burns 100 million UNI from the treasury and sends Unichain sequencer fees to UNI burns. Governance approves it in December 2025.

What UNI is used for

UNI is used to vote and delegate votes in Uniswap governance. Since UNIfication, part of the trading fees on selected pools is used to buy and burn UNI, which links the token more directly to protocol activity. UNI is also widely traded and used as collateral elsewhere in DeFi.

Uniswap vs centralized exchanges

On a centralized exchange you deposit funds and the company executes trades on its order book. On Uniswap you keep your tokens in your own wallet until the moment of the swap and no account is needed, but you pay network fees, you are responsible for checking the token contract and there is no customer support if you make a mistake.

Risks and criticism

• **Governance concentration:** a small number of large holders and delegates can decide most votes.
• **Smart contract and hook risk:** the core contracts are heavily audited, but third-party hooks and tokens can contain bugs or traps.
• **Liquidity provider risk:** LPs face impermanent loss when prices move.
• **Scams:** anyone can create a pool, so fake tokens and phishing sites imitating Uniswap are common.
• **Regulation:** rules for DeFi interfaces and governance tokens are still evolving in the US and the EU.

How to store UNI

UNI lives on Ethereum (and as bridged versions on other networks), so any Ethereum-compatible wallet can hold it. For larger amounts a hardware wallet is the safest option, and you can still delegate your voting power without moving the tokens. Only use the official Uniswap website and verify the contract address before swapping. Keep your recovery phrase offline.