Uniswap ($UNI) Surges 45% As Trading Fees Surpass Ethereum

Uniswap saw its native token UNI log massive gains this week as the DeFi exchange saw its volumes rival those of Ethereum, the blockchain it is built on.

UNI jumped nearly 45% through the last seven days to $5.46, touching its highest level in over three weeks. The token has now

The largest DeFi exchange by daily volumes saw fees paid by traders to the exchange jump by about 25% through the week to peak at $5 million a day, data from CryptoFees.info shows. The figure briefly surpassed daily fees paid on Ethereum, which ranged between $4 million to $6 million.

Uniswap demand signals DeFi market recovery?

Rising fees on the largest DeFi exchange could indicate that the DeFi space is seeing some recovery, after a crippling first six months this year. Total value locked (TVL) into DeFi has slumped over 66% this year, according to data from DeFi Llama.

Uniswap however, has lost less than 50% of its TVL this year. The exchange has also seen some inflows this week, with its TVL rising 11% to $5.1 billion.

Growing interest in the exchange may stem from increased engagement with Ethereum Layer 2s. Uniswap is already supported by major players such as Polygon, and is also integrated into several Ethereum-based applications, giving it a wide user pool.

The trend also reflects increasing user frustration with high gas fees on Ethereum, especially during high-volume events such as popular NFT mints.

Ethereum gas volumes plummet

Uniswap’s rise in fees has also corresponded with a sharp drop in Ethereum fees. Data shows that ETH’s daily fees are at their lowest since late-2020. Uniswap on the other hand hit a one-month high earlier in June.

Ethereum has been mired with issues in recent months. Potential delays to the merge, coupled with exposure to a high amount of liquidations crashing ETH prices have driven users to other alternatives.