Uniswap Finally Turns On The Money Machine
Uniswap (CRYPTO: UNI) unveiled a plan this week that could reshape how value circulates through DeFi’s largest marketplace. The “UNIfication” proposal published on November 10th would activate a long-dormant fee switch, re-routing a slice of trading fees to support token burning. That would effectively turn the crypto into a cash-flow asset.
The move sent UNI soaring more than 40% in a single day to around $8.47, its sharpest rally in over two years. But the proposal has also split the DeFi community, pitting liquidity providers against token holders in a debate over whether Uniswap has just reinvented tokenomics or compromised its own market edge.
A Protocol Matures
Since launching in 2018, Uniswap has handled more than $3.3 trillion in annual trading volume, powering much of DeFi’s infrastructure. Yet it has never collected protocol-level revenue: all 0.3% trading fees went to liquidity providers who staked assets in its pools. UNI holders, accounting for roughly 350,000 wallets, had governance rights but no direct claim on protocol cash flows, a source of frustration that grew during years of regulatory uncertainty under the SEC’s former leadership.
Now, with a more crypto-friendly policy backdrop, Uniswap’s leadership sees a chance to align incentives. As founder Hayden Adams wrote on X, the plan “turns on protocol fees and aligns incentives across the Uniswap ecosystem,” calling Uniswap “global financial infrastructure.”
How the “Money Machine” Works
Under UNIfication, Uniswap would redirect part of its trading fees into a smart-contract burn system:
- Fee switch: For V2 pools, 0.05% of each 0.3% trade – about 16.7% – would go to the protocol, with the remainder to liquidity …
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