Uniswap

Uniswap is a decentralized exchange (DEX) protocol built on Ethereum, founded in 2018 by Hayden Adams and maintained by Uniswap Labs in New York, United States. It introduced the automated market maker (AMM) model to DeFi, allowing token swaps directly from a connected wallet without intermediaries or a central order book. Uniswap consistently accounts for 50–65% of weekly DEX trading volume across Ethereum and multiple EVM-compatible networks.

Security

• Non-custodial: users retain full control of their private keys; the protocol never holds or custodies assets on behalf of users
• Uniswap v4 (launched January 2025) completed nine independent smart contract audits before deployment
• A $15.5 million bug bounty program covers critical vulnerability disclosures
• Immutable v2 contracts and a governance timelock on v3/v4 limit unilateral protocol changes
• The open-source codebase is publicly verifiable
• Phishing sites impersonating the official interface are an ongoing risk; confirm the URL is app.uniswap.org before connecting a wallet

Regulation

• The protocol holds no regulatory license from the SEC, FinCEN, FCA, or comparable bodies
• Uniswap Labs, which built and operates the front-end interface, is incorporated in New York and subject to US federal law
• The SEC opened a formal investigation into Uniswap Labs around 2024 and closed it in early 2025 without enforcement action
• In 2025, the Uniswap DAO adopted a Wyoming DUNA (Decentralized Unincorporated Nonprofit Association) structure for decentralized governance

Incident History

• April 2020: A reentrancy vulnerability in early Uniswap contracts was exploited in a limited attack; a related breach on Lendf.me followed within 24 hours
• July 2022: A phishing campaign impersonating a UNI token airdrop drained approximately $8 million from liquidity provider wallets; the protocol contracts were not breached
• April 2023: A sandwich MEV attack extracted approximately $25.2 million from eight Uniswap liquidity pools; no funds were recovered

The core v2 and v3 smart contracts have not been directly exploited. Documented losses have resulted from phishing targeting individual users and MEV manipulation of pool pricing.

Availability

Uniswap is accessible globally via any EVM-compatible wallet. The official front-end restricts certain token types for users in the United States following regulatory guidance to Uniswap Labs. The underlying protocol contracts remain accessible through third-party interfaces.