Aerodrome (DEX Liquidity)
This page offers a breakdown of the upgrades we made to the $MCADE pair on the 2nd August 2025.
Upgrades
Combined Uniswap and Aerodrome Liquidity into one pool.
We chose Aerodrome for the reasons laid out below.
There is no longer a Uniswap pool, so please don't trade there.
We have re-paired $MCADE with WETH and removed USDC
We maintain historical CMC, Coingecko, and TradingView Spot charts, but will build new DexScreener & DEXTools charts because the changes have created a new contract pair.
New Charts & Pair Address
Why Aerodrome and not Uniswap?
The metrics are below for all to see but on top of this it is important to state that our 'North Star' as a business has always been to the best on base. The Base App presents a unique opportunity for to be in a first to market situation with 8 Million+ Monthly Users waiting to experience Metacade for the first time. It was announced on the 1st August by Brian Armstrong on a 'Earnings Call' that DEX trading would be made active in the Base App as early as the week commencing 4th August 2025. Aerodrome will be the primary liquidity provider to the Base App with consumers not even knowing where the liquidity is coming from when trading and engaging with $MCADE. This is why we made the move and committed to capital to this strategy for the clear benefit of the holders and the business.
Total Value Locked (TVL) TVL: $574M–$1.398B (fluctuated over 2024–2025). As of September 2024, ~$574M; peaked at $1.398B in December 2024. Accounts for ~35–50% of Base’s $2.7B TVL.
TVL: $173M–$280M. Peaked at $280M (May 2024), dropped to $173M (September 2024), a 13.4% decline over 30 days. Accounts for ~6–10% of Base’s TVL.
Aerodrome offers much higher Base focussed TVL which means it has 3-5x TVL on Base compared to Uniswap. More traders, holders and opportunities.
Trading Volume Daily volume ~$400M (7-day moving average, September 2024). Captures 57–80% of Base’s DEX volume.
Volume: ~$200M daily (7-day moving average, September 2024), declining from earlier 2024. Accounts for 30–40% of Base’s DEX volume.
Aerodrome dominates volume growth and continues to grow as Uniswap fades.
Fees 0.25% trading fee per swap, with 0.02% protocol fees to veAERO holders. Generates ~$500K daily, highest among Base dApps.
V3 tiers (0.05%, 0.3%, 1% for USDC/WETH; typically 0.3%). 100% of fees go to LPs; no protocol revenue for UNI holders.
It's cheaper to trade on Aerodrome compared to Uniswap plus LP and Voter incentives are significantly higher.
Why only have one liquidity pool?
Deeper Liquidity and Reduced Slippage:
A single pool concentrates liquidity, increasing total value locked (TVL). This depth reduces price impact for trades.
Impact on Sell Pressure: Lower slippage for large sell orders directly supporting the goal of absorbing sell pressure.
Improved Price Stability:
A deeper pool buffers price movements during large trades. Split pools dilute this stability.
Impact on Sell Pressure: Stabilizes prices against sell-offs, preventing sharp drops (e.g., no “big red candle” unless sell pressure is extreme).
Higher Trading Volume and Fee Revenue:
Consolidating into Aerodrome (9.02B–$16.5B monthly volume, 57–80% of Base’s DEX volume) attracts more traders due to lower slippage and fees (0.25% vs. Uniswap’s 0.3%). Higher volume increases LP fee revenue (0.25% per swap).
Impact on Sell Pressure: High volume ensures efficient trade execution, absorbing sell orders without significant price impact.
Enhanced Incentive Efficiency:
Aerodrome’s ve(3,3) model provides AERO emissions (224.88% APR) to staked LPs and 100% of protocol fees (0.02%) to veAERO holders. Consolidating liquidity maximizes exposure to these incentives, unlike Uniswap, which offers only fees (0.3%) without emissions.
Impact on Sell Pressure: Voting with veAERO directs emissions to our pool, attracting more LPs and deepening liquidity, further reducing slippage.
Centralized Market Presence:
Aerodrome dominates Base (35–50% of $2.7B TVL, 57–80% volume), making it the liquidity hub. Consolidating into vAMM-USDC/WETH strengthens your project’s presence in Base’s leading DEX.
Impact on Sell Pressure: Traders prefer Aerodrome’s deep pools, ensuring sell orders are absorbed efficiently.
Why move from USDC to WETH?
Deeper Liquidity Reduces Slippage
Improved Price Stability
Higher Trading Volume and Fees
Stronger Incentives on Aerodrome
Traders Preference for WETH Pairs
Last updated