The introduction of Uniswap swap fees is not aimed at extracting additional profits but at funding further development of the ecosystem. Yet the move is ‘centralised’, says a researcher going by the handle Haotian.
Opinion: Analysis of Uniswap Labs charging Swap Fee and what will be done in the future By @tmel0211
— Learn the MetaMask model and obtain profits to subsidize the cost of operations
— Fees are just the beginning of centralization, the next step may be KYC
— No empowerment for… pic.twitter.com/svyYuZCQBY— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) October 17, 2023
In his view, such an approach is dictated by the costs of developing and maintaining the frontend, applications and the expansion of the product line. The only effective way to offset operating and other costs is through additional charges, the expert says.
Haotian noted that Uniswap Labs and Uniswap are separate entities. Only the protocol is decentralised, while the applications and the user interface effectively belong to the company, therefore it is entitled to take unilateral decisions regarding them.
“Additional charges are probably just the start of centralised measures. The implementation of KYC strategies for these channels is inevitable, since no company can avoid compliance issues. The 0.15% fee was announced without a vote, which says a lot”, — said the expert.
In his view, the expansion of UNI governance token holders’ powers has not materialised. Meanwhile, Haotian is confident that community voting, in any case, cannot influence the ‘official’ position.
“In short, this is a tragedy for token holders”, — added the expert.
Users still have options to circumvent the introduced swap fees. They can use third-party wallets or DEX-aggregators, which interact directly with the protocol’s backend, said Haotian. The fee applies to operations through Uniswap Wallet and the frontend user interface.
However there is a serious risk of encountering fraud in attempts to dodge the fee due to the spread of phishing scams, the expert warns.
“The market will ultimately show that paying the additional 0.15% for choosing the official Uniswap may prove to be the safest and most reliable option”, — the expert asserts.
Developers tied the launch timelines for protocol v4 to the upcoming Dencun hard fork on the Ethereum blockchain.