Uniswap Labs officially releases v4

Uniswap v4 has officially launched across several blockchain networks, with swapping features set to debut for all users in the coming days.

Uniswap Labs, the entity behind the decentralized exchange Uniswap, announced that its fourth-generation protocol is now available for public access. The upgrade introduces improvements aimed at enhancing developer operability and on-chain liquidity.

According to a blog post from the company, Uniswap v4 is live on Ethereum, Polygon, Arbitrum, OP Mainnet, Base, BNB Chain, Blast, World Chain, Avalanche, and Zora Network as of January 31.

The firm had initially planned to roll out v4 last year. However, delays occurred due to extensive code audits to ensure security and multiple hackathons to stress test the protocol’s code. Also, the team audited v4’s code nine times and even issued a $15.5 million bug bounty to troubleshoot any lingering architecture concerns.

Two of the most significant upgrades in Uniswap v4 are the introduction of “hooks” and the singleton liquidity design. Hooks, in particular, drew attention when v4 was announced, as the upgrade promised to transform Uniswap into a developer-focused decentralized application.

The Labs describe Hooks as blockchain contracts built to allow custom architecture for liquidity pools, on-chain swaps, and crypto fees. Hooks goes hand-in-hand with the singleton liquidity framework, which blends Uniswap liquidity into a single smart contract.

Uniswap engineers said the new liquidity architecture should enable cheaper transactions and faster swaps to better the end-user experience.

Over 150 hooks have already been developed, introducing everything from dynamic fees to automated liquidity management. By allowing developers to build and experiment directly on top of the protocol, hooks enable faster development cycles and stickier integrations.

Uniswap blog post