Uniswap is an automated liquidity technique that relies on a fixed product formula. It is executed in the Ethereum blockchain-based system of non-upgradable smart contracts.
The following blog provides a deep understanding of the Uniswap platform by providing details about the history of Uniswap, its features, working, and how to use Uniswap.
What is Uniswap?
Uniswap is an Ethereum-based decentralized crypto exchange, which employs the automated liquidity protocol. Using Uniswap, transaction execution doesn’t reply to any centralized party or an order book. Therefore, allowing users to perform trade directly with each other. The users can also exchange ERC-20 tokens without utilizing the order book.
The platform doesn’t require any listing procedure because of the Uniswap protocol’s decentralized nature. Any platform trader can release the ERC-20 token without any listing fees. Uniswap was developed in 2018 as an open-source platform. This signifies that anyone can copy the program code to develop their own exchanges. Several other decentralized exchanges (such as Curve, SushiSwap, and Balancer) have started since then, but Uniswap is the most well-known by a wide margin.
Versions of Uniswap:
1. Uniswap V1 –
The first version of Uniswap was launched on November 2, 2018, on the Ethereum Mainnet. Earlier, EtherDelta was the only decentralized exchange based on the traditional order-book model. In EtherDelta, trading an asset needed a proper matching of buy/sell orders, affecting the liquidity.
On the other hand, Uniswap is based on Automated Market Making (AMM) protocol. Here, the trades are performed against smart contracts and the asset’s price is determined based on a mathematical formula.
In the Uniswap liquidity pool, the ratio of the trading asset is kept constant.
The following is the mathematical expression:
X * Y = K
Where,
X = Reserve the 1st asset
Y = Reserve the 2nd asset
Here, the liquidity providers need to add liquidity in such a way that K remains constant.
2. Uniswap V2 –
In May 2020, the second version of Uniswap was released. The major problem with the first version of Uniswap was the “ETH bridging” issue. This resulted in escalated prices and high slippage when the user needed to swap an ERC20 token.
Uniswap V2 was an upgraded version with features including a simple and effective user interface and experience. It also overcomes the ETH bridging issue by introducing the ERC20-ERC20 pools. Further, the wrapped ETH is used in the core contracts instead of the native ETH. However, traders can utilize ETH via helper contracts.
3. Uniswap V3 –
Uniswap version three is the latest version launched on May 5, 2021, on the Ethereum mainnet. The third version provided better capital efficiency and accuracy. It has a flexible fee structure including other features, such as concentrated liquidity. It was launched on the Optimistic Ethereum network. Optimism is the layer two scaling solution, which is superior to Ethereum’s layer one.
Features of Uniswap:
- Swap – Uniswap token exchanges make it simple to exchange one ERC-20 token for another. It utilizes an automated market-maker (AMM) procedure rather than a conventional order book to obtain real-time data on rates and slippage.
- Liquidity Pool – The pair of ERC20 tokens is tradable in each liquidity pool on Uniswap. The balance of each token in the pool contract is initially zero. As a result, before the pool can begin permitting trades, someone must seed it with an initial deposit of each token. The first liquidity providers determine the pool’s initial pricing.
- Flash Swap – This is a new functionality included in Uniswap V2. Users can employ arbitrary logic, without paying a charge upfront, and withdraw the entire funds of any ERC20 token.
- Oracle – Oracle is a critical component of the DeFi (Decentralized Finance) program. The Uniswap team built its own Oracle in accordance with its methodology. Uniswap V2 enables developers to create on-chain price oracles that are highly decentralized and difficult to modify. This may satisfy a number of needs for developing dependable protocols.
How does Uniswap works?
The AMM (Automated Market Maker) technology is the fundamental innovation that operates the entire protocol. This AMM manages the pools that supply the tokens required to implement trades. The AMM algorithm of Uniswap determines the actual price of the token during the trade. Here, the users don’t trade against each other, they trade against the liquidity pool and the price is determined by using a mathematical formula.
The liquidity pool (LP) is created by users, known as Liquidity Providers. The Liquidity Providers deposit their tokens in the pool in exchange for the liquidity pool tokens plus a share of the pool profits and the project tokens.
The steps are as follows:
Step 1: Create an Ethereum wallet and buy a small amount of ETH. The user can buy ETH from a crypto exchange.
Step 2: Connect the Ethereum wallet to Uniswap. Go to Uniswap’s application and download it. In the top right, there is an option to connect to the wallet.
Step 3: Perform trading or provide liquidity. The two primary functions of Uniswap are to trade and to provide liquidity. The user can simply choose the amount of ETH and what token they would like to swap in exchange.
The End Note:
Uniswap is an impactful innovative DEX that eliminates any middleman during the fund transfer. This signifies that transactions are not vulnerable to any counterparty risk as users can directly perform business from their Ethereum wallets.
Although there are disadvantages, this methodology has various fascinating consequences for the growth of the trustless swapping of tokens.
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