UNI Price Jumps 10% As Uniswap’s Fee Switch Plan Moves Forward With $165.5 Million Funding

Uniswap’s governance decision to approve $165.5 million in funding has sparked a surge in UNI token price, which has jumped by over 10% in the last 24 hours. The live price of UNI now stands at $7.01, with a trading volume of approximately $292 million.

The price increase reflects growing optimism among investors as the long-discussed “fee switch” initiative moves closer to activation. Additionally, the open interest in UNI derivatives has seen a significant rise, marking a 17.69% increase, reaching $196.96 million.

Uniswap Foundation Secures Funding for Ecosystem Growth

The Uniswap community has voted in favor of two governance proposals that allocate $165.5 million in funding. This capital will help support the growth of the Uniswap ecosystem following the launch of Uniswap v4 and the Unichain Layer 2 network.

Of this amount, $95.4 million will be directed towards the Uniswap Foundation’s grants budget, and $45 million will be set aside for liquidity incentives. The remaining $25.1 million will go towards operational costs for the next two years.

The Uniswap Foundation is an independent non-profit organization responsible for overseeing the growth of the protocol. The decision to allocate substantial funds to ecosystem development is aimed at increasing the network’s scalability and creating new opportunities for growth. The foundation’s long-term goal is to transition Uniswap from a decentralized exchange into a platform that can also cater to developers and bring significant value to the Uniswap community.

Liquidity Incentives to Support Uniswap v4 and Unichain Growth

Part of the funding will be used to establish liquidity incentives for the newly launched Uniswap v4 and Unichain platforms. Gauntlet, a Web3 risk management protocol, will manage these incentives to draw in new users and maintain growth across both networks.

The proposal also includes developer-focused campaigns designed to sustain ecosystem expansion and encourage further participation from the broader community.

Uniswap v4, launched in mid-January 2025, introduced the concept of “hooks” or contracts that allow developers to customize interactions within pools, swaps, and fees. The launch of Unichain, built on the Optimism tech stack, further enhances Uniswap’s scalability by providing a Layer 2 network that can support more transactions at lower fees.

Fee Switch Moves Closer to Reality, Potentially Reshaping Revenue Distribution

One of the most significant aspects of the governance decision is the advancement of the long-awaited “fee switch.” This would direct a portion of protocol fees, currently earned by liquidity providers, towards UNI token holders. This change has been eagerly awaited by the community, as earlier proposals to activate the fee switch were unsuccessful.

The Uniswap Foundation has stated that it will now proceed with the necessary legal steps to activate this switch.

Subsequently, the Uniswap fee switch would enable UNI token holders to earn protocol revenue, which has been a major topic of discussion within the community. Over $1 billion in annualized fees have been generated by the Uniswap protocol, and this shift would allow token holders to capture a portion of that revenue. The activation of the fee switch represents a significant step in Uniswap’s ongoing efforts to align the interests of its governance members with the protocol’s long-term success.