DEXes are the execution layer of DeFi. They price assets, route volume, create fee streams, and turn governance incentives into liquidity. The key is not only which venue has the most TVL, but how the pool shapes liquidity, who pays for incentives, and whether the design is suited to volatile or pegged assets.
Reading Path
- Navigating the swap swamps gives practical grounding for token swaps.
- How are the main decentralized exchanges capturing value? compares Uniswap, SushiSwap, and Curve value capture.
- CRV wars explains vote-escrow incentives and Curve emission power.
- Advanced CRV warfare covers Convex-adjacent layers and vote markets.
- Liquidity shaping with Maverick examines more expressive liquidity structures.
- The Pegged Asset Swap Wars compares liquidity designs for correlated assets.
Core Concepts
- DEX, AMM, and liquidity pool define the venue.
- Slippage, price impact, and routing explain execution quality.
- Vote escrow, gauge, and bribes explain incentive markets.
- Liquidity shaping captures the newer design space.
