Uniswap V4: A New Era of Decentralized Exchange

Uniswap is one of the most popular and innovative decentralized exchange protocols in the crypto space. It allows anyone to swap any ERC-20 tokens without intermediaries, order books, or KYC. It also enables liquidity providers to earn fees by supplying tokens to the protocol's pools.

Since its inception in 2018, Uniswap has gone through several iterations, each introducing new features and improvements. The latest version, Uniswap V4, was announced in June 2021 and is expected to launch by the end of 2023. Uniswap V4 promises to bring unprecedented levels of customization, efficiency, and innovation to the decentralized exchange landscape.

In this article, we will explore what Uniswap V4 is, how it works, and what it means for the future of DeFi.

What is Uniswap V4?

Uniswap V4 is a non-custodial, non-upgradeable, and permissionless automated market maker (AMM) protocol. Uniswap V4 lets us create custom AMM features directly on top of Uniswap instead of having to create a new AMM design. Uniswap V4 gives developers access to deep liquidity and existing powerful features like concentrated liquidity.

Concentrated liquidity is a feature that was introduced in Uniswap V3, which allows liquidity providers to specify the price ranges in which they want to provide liquidity. This way, they can optimize their capital efficiency and exposure to price movements. For example, a liquidity provider can choose to provide liquidity only between $0.9 and $1.1 for USDC/DAI pair, instead of the entire price spectrum.

Uniswap V4 builds on the concept of concentrated liquidity and adds a new layer of flexibility and customization. It does so by introducing hooks, which are contracts that run at various points of a pool action’s lifecycle. Hooks allow developers to modify or extend the behavior of Uniswap pools, swaps, fees, and LP positions.

For example, hooks can be used to create pools that have dynamic fees based on market conditions, on-chain limit orders, time-weighted average market maker (TWAMM) pools that spread out large orders over time, and more. Hooks can also enable new ways of using Uniswap liquidity, such as depositing out-of-range liquidity into lending protocols, or auto-compounding LP fees back into the LP positions.

Uniswap V4 also introduces a new singleton contract, where all pools live within a single smart contract. This improves the gas efficiency of the protocol, as complex swaps can be executed through a single contract instead of multiple ones. It also reduces the cost of deploying new pools by 99%.

Uniswap V4 uses EIP-1153: Transient storage to further reduce the network fee costs and improve upon Uniswap V3. EIP-1153 is a proposal that allows smart contracts to temporarily store data in unused storage slots, and then clear them at the end of the transaction. This way, the protocol can avoid paying for permanent storage costs, and only pay for the net balance changes of the tokens involved in the swap.

Uniswap V4 will be governed by the Uniswap DAO and the UNI holders. The protocol will include a fee switch that can be activated by the governance on a per-pool basis, to extract a portion of the fees generated by the liquidity providers. Uniswap V4 will be released under the Business Source License 1.1, which will last for four years and restrict the use of the protocol to only entities approved by the governance.

How to use Uniswap V4?

Uniswap V4 is not yet live, but the draft code and the whitepaper have been released for public review and contribution. You can read the open-sourced, early version of the Uniswap V4 core and periphery repositories, read the draft technical whitepaper here, and learn more about how to contribute here.

Once Uniswap V4 is launched, you will be able to use it through the Uniswap interface or any other compatible interface. You will be able to swap tokens, provide liquidity, and manage your positions as usual, but with more options and features. You will also be able to explore and interact with the custom pools created by other developers using hooks.

To swap tokens, you will need to connect your wallet to the interface and select the tokens you want to swap. You will see the current exchange rate, the estimated slippage, and the fees. You can also adjust the slippage tolerance and the deadline for the transaction. Once you confirm the swap, you will need to approve the transaction in your wallet and wait for it to be mined.

To provide liquidity, you will need to select the pool you want to join and the amount of tokens you want to supply. You will also need to specify the price range in which you want to provide liquidity, which will determine your capital efficiency and exposure. You will see the estimated fees, the current utilization, and the position details. Once you confirm the supply, you will need to approve the transaction in your wallet and wait for it to be mined.

To manage your positions, you will need to go to the pool page and select the position you want to modify. You will be able to add or remove liquidity, adjust the price range, or collect your fees. You will also see the current value, the fees earned, and the price chart of your position. Once you confirm the changes, you will need to approve the transaction in your wallet and wait for it to be mined.

What are the benefits of Uniswap V4?

Uniswap V4 offers several benefits for the users, the developers, and the ecosystem. Some of the main benefits are:

• Customization: Uniswap V4 allows anyone to create custom AMM features directly on top of Uniswap, without having to create a new AMM design. This opens up a world of possibilities for how liquidity is created and how tokens are traded on-chain. Users can choose from a variety of pools that suit their needs and preferences, while developers can experiment and innovate with new AMM functionalities using hooks.
• Efficiency: Uniswap V4 improves the gas efficiency of the protocol by using a singleton contract, EIP-1153, and flash accounting. This reduces the network fee costs for the users and the liquidity providers, and makes the protocol more scalable and accessible. It also reduces the cost of deploying new pools by 99%, which lowers the barriers to entry for new liquidity sources.
• Innovation: Uniswap V4 enables fast, expressive, and composable AMM innovation within one powerful ecosystem. It leverages the deep liquidity and the existing features of Uniswap, such as concentrated liquidity and oracles, and adds a new layer of flexibility and customization with hooks. It also allows for more integration and interoperability with other DeFi protocols, such as lending, derivatives, and aggregators.

What are the challenges of Uniswap V4?

Uniswap V4 is not without its challenges and trade-offs. Some of the main challenges are:

• Complexity: Uniswap V4 introduces a new level of complexity and risk to the protocol, as hooks can potentially introduce bugs, vulnerabilities, or malicious code. Users and developers will need to be careful and diligent when interacting with custom pools, and verify the source and the functionality of the hooks. The protocol will also need to undergo rigorous testing and auditing before launching, and ensure the security and reliability of the code.
• Compatibility: Uniswap V4 will require EIP-1153 to be implemented in the next Ethereum hard fork, which is expected to be the Cancun upgrade. EIP-1153 is a proposal that allows smart contracts to temporarily store data in unused storage slots, and then clear them at the end of the transaction. This is essential for Uniswap V4 to reduce the network fee costs and improve upon Uniswap V3. However, there is no guarantee that EIP-1153 will be included in the next hard fork, or when the hard fork will happen. This creates uncertainty and dependency for the launch of Uniswap V4.
• Competition: Uniswap V4 will face fierce competition from other decentralized exchange protocols, such as SushiSwap, Balancer, Curve, and Bancor. These protocols have their own advantages and features, such as governance tokens, multi-chain support, dynamic fees, stablecoin optimization, and impermanent loss protection. They also have loyal and active communities that support and contribute to their development and growth. Uniswap V4 will need to prove its value proposition and differentiation, and attract and retain users and liquidity providers.

Conclusion

Uniswap V4 is a major milestone for the decentralized exchange industry and the DeFi ecosystem. It promises to bring unprecedented levels of customization, efficiency, and innovation to the AMM landscape, and enable anyone to create and use custom AMM features directly on top of Uniswap.

Stay tuned to CoinCarp Social Media and Discuss with Us:

Twitter |Telegram |Reddit |Discord