Uniswap (UNI) is the largest decentralized exchange (or DEX) operating on the Ethereum blockchain. It allows users anywhere in the world to trade crypto without any intermediary by facilitating automated trading of decentralized finance (DeFi) tokens. Uniswap was launched in November 2018 and is a great example of an automated market maker (AMM), a system that aims to provide liquidity to the market by using algorithms to set the price of a token. Uniswap was one of the first decentralized finance (or DeFi) applications to gain significant traction on Ethereum, and is now one of the largest cryptocurrencies by market cap on Coinbase. Despite numerous competitors (including Curve, SushiSwap, and Balancer), Uniswap has historically remained the most popular among crypto traders. In September 2020, Uniswap introduced its own governance token, UNI, which added the potential for users to receive compensation and the ability for users to shape their future.

Uniswap pioneered the Automated Market Maker model, in which users can supply tokens to any of Uniswap's liquidity pools and then have algorithms set market prices based on supply and demand (as opposed to order books, which match bids and asks from users on a centralized exchange like Coinbase). This mechanism also removes identity requirements for users, and technically, anyone can create a liquidity pool for any pair of tokens. By supplying tokens to Uniswap liquidity pools, users earn rewards while enabling peer-to-peer trading. The UNI token allows UNI holders to participate in the governance of the Uniswap protocol and wider ecosystem in a neutral and trustless manner.

Uniswap aims to solve liquidity issues with automated solutions, improving the efficiency of trading versus traditional exchanges. Some of the potential advantages of decentralized exchanges like Uniswap include: (1) Self-governance: Funds are never transferred to any third party or generally subject to counterparty risk (i.e., trusting your assets with a custodian) because both parties are trading directly from their own wallets. (2) Global and permissionless solution: since there is no concept of borders or restrictions on who can trade on Uniswap — anyone with a smartphone and an internet connection can participate. (3) Ease-of-use and pseudonymity: No account signup or personal details are required. Uniswap's governance token, UNI, was created to enable shared community ownership and a vibrant, diverse, and dedicated governance system, which will actively guide the protocol in the future.

Uniswap was created by Ethereum developer Hayden Adams, which was direclty inspired by one of Vitalik Buterin's (founder of Ethereum) own blog posts. Uniswap V2 was launched on Nov. 2, 2018, and introduced new features like ERC-20 pairs, price oracles, flash swaps, and more. The latest version, Uniswap V3, was launched on the Ethereum mainnet on May 5, 2021. It features greater capital efficiency for liquidity providers, better execution for traders, and enhanced infrastructure.

After years of successful operation and on its path to complete decentralization, Uniswap introduced the UNI token with the aim to enable community ownership over the protocol, allowing stakeholders to vote on key protocol changes and development initiatives. When Uniswap released the token in September 2020, it used a unique form of distribution in which it "airdropped", meaning sent out, 400 UNI tokens to each Ethereum address that had ever used the protocol. Over 250,000 Ethereum addresses received the airdrop, which was worth nearly $1,400 at the time. Airdrops have since become a popular way for DeFi apps to reward longtime users – Uniswap has said it plans to distribute a total of 1 billion UNI over four years.

In order to use Uniswap, all you need is an Ethereum wallet and a bit of ETH (which you'll need to pay for gas fees). Popular options include Coinbase Wallet or Metamask. Using the app or web browser built into Coinbase Wallet or Metamask, you can access app.uniswap.org to start swapping tokens or supplying liquidity.