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Editorial policyUse Uniswap at app.uniswap.org for Ethereum and L2 token swaps from a self-custody wallet. V3 lets LPs concentrate capital in a price range; V4 adds hooks. Skip Uniswap if you wanted a CEX that can reverse a payment, or you are swapping on Solana — that is Jupiter. Educational research, not financial advice.
Uniswap is the default Ethereum AMM: swap from a wallet, or provide liquidity in a price range. Verdict-first guide covering V3, V4 hooks, UNI governance, and who should use a CEX or Jupiter instead.
Market context
DeFiLlamaAs of 27 August 2026, What is Uniswap? AMM Swaps, V3 Ranges and When to Skip It reports approximately $1.49B total value locked in the dexs category across Ethereum, Base, Arbitrum, Binance.
Skip Uniswap if you need a custodial exchange, you cannot verify a token contract, or you are on Solana. An AMM will route a swap to a junk token if you pick one. LPing in a tight V3 range is not a passive savings product.
Related comparisons
Yes — as the default AMM for Ethereum-family tokens when you already have a wallet and can verify the contract you are buying. Uniswap does not custody an account. A swap is final. Skip it for Solana (Jupiter) and for large stable-to-stable size where Curve often has tighter peg liquidity.
DeFiLlama snapshot 2026-08-27: about $1.5 billion TVL for this listing. That is lockup, not a safety rating — re-check the live figure before you size anything.
Uniswap is an automated market maker: liquidity providers deposit token pairs into a pool, and traders swap against that pool. V2 spreads liquidity across all prices. V3 lets LPs choose a range — more fees per dollar inside the range, zero fees if price leaves it. Positions are NFTs, not fungible LP tokens.
V4 (live 2025) adds hooks: extra contracts that run at swap or liquidity events. A hook can be useful or unsafe. Treat an unaudited V4 hook as a different product from vanilla V3.
| Version | LP shape | Best for | Skip when |
|---|---|---|---|
| V2 | Full-range ERC-20 LP | Simple pairs, forks | You wanted capital efficiency |
| V3 | Ranged NFT position | Most Ethereum swaps / LPs | You cannot rebalance a range |
| V4 | Hooks + singleton | Custom pool logic | You have not read the hook |
| UniswapX | Off-chain fillers | Better quotes on some sizes | You need a simple pool swap |
Use Uniswap for general Ethereum and L2 tokens. Use Curve for large pegged stables and LST pairs. Use Jupiter on Solana. Use PancakeSwap when you are already on BNB Chain. An aggregator wrapping Uniswap does not remove token-contract risk or a fake ticker.
| Want | Use | Skip Uniswap when |
|---|---|---|
| Ethereum / L2 alts | Uniswap | You are on Solana |
| Large stables / LSTs | Curve | The pair is uncorrelated |
| Solana swap | Jupiter | You only have MetaMask |
| BNB Chain swap | PancakeSwap | You are Ethereum-only |
Fake tokens, impermanent loss in a tight V3 range, and MEV on public mempool swaps bite more often than a core V2/V3 exploit. Interface fees on some Uniswap Labs routes are not protocol LP fees. Bookmark app.uniswap.org; phishing clones are the usual drain.
Use app.uniswap.org and verify the token contract, not the ticker. You need a wallet and gas on the chain you pick. Our Uniswap how-to is the click path. This page is whether an AMM is the right venue versus a CEX, Curve, or Jupiter.
FAQ
A non-custodial AMM DEX on Ethereum and L2s. You swap from a wallet at app.uniswap.org. There is no KYC and no payment reversal. A bad token choice is final.
Swap if you need a token. LP only if you accept impermanent loss and, on V3, stretches of zero fees when price leaves your range. Tight ranges are active management.
UNI votes. A protocol fee switch has been debated for years and is not a reason to treat UNI as a dividend stock. This page does not recommend UNI.
No. Educational research only. We do not recommend swapping, LPing, or buying UNI.
PancakeSwap is the default AMM on BNB Chain, with farms and a wider product surface than a single Uniswap pool. Verdict-first guide on when to stay on Uniswap/Ethereum instead.
Jupiter is Solana’s default DEX aggregator. Verdict-first guide on routing, when a single DEX is enough, and why Ethereum wallets should not start here.
Curve is the specialist DEX for pegged assets, plus crvUSD and LlamaLend. Verdict-first guide on when Uniswap is enough, how veCRV and Convex connect, and who should not LP here first.