Uniswap

Uniswap is a decentralized exchange built primarily on the Ethereum blockchain that allows people to swap one cryptocurrency token for another without relying on a traditional intermediary such as a broker or centralized exchange. The protocol uses an Automated Market Maker model, meaning prices are determined by a mathematical formula and pools of tokens supplied by other users rather than by an order book. UNI is the governance token of the protocol, giving holders the ability to vote on decisions such as how the treasury is used or what changes are made to the protocol.

Uniswap pools are funded by liquidity providers who deposit pairs of tokens and earn a share of the trading fees generated by the pool in return. When a trader swaps tokens, the AMM formula automatically adjusts the price based on the relative quantities of each token remaining in the pool. UNI tokens themselves do not entitle holders to a direct share of fees by default; their primary function is governance, though the protocol has a mechanism — sometimes called a fee switch — that can redirect a portion of fees to holders if governance votes to activate it.

Fees are paid by traders each time they execute a swap, and the large majority flows to liquidity providers rather than to the protocol itself: over the trailing 30 days, supply-side revenue — the portion going to liquidity providers — was approximately 80 million dollars, while protocol revenue retained by or redistributed through the protocol was approximately 8 million dollars, implying a take rate of roughly 9 percent over that same period. Annualizing from those 30 days, total fees run at about 1.07 billion dollars and protocol revenue at a rate that corresponds to a market-cap-to-revenue ratio of 28.2. Fee growth over the trailing 30 days was down 34.21 percent, while revenue growth over the same window was up 43.1 percent, reflecting the different paths of gross fees versus the protocol's own cut. The fee yield — annualized fees expressed as a percentage of market capitalization — stands at 39.2 percent, though most of that accrues to liquidity providers rather than UNI holders directly.