How to Use Uniswap

Intermediate 20 minutes

Uniswap holds $6.7B in TVL (January 2026) making it the largest DEX. Launched November 2018, it processes $1-2B daily volume. Swap costs $15-80 on Ethereum mainnet, but only $0.10-0.50 on Arbitrum.

What is Uniswap?

Decentralized - No company controls it
Non-custodial - You keep your keys
Permissionless - Anyone can use or list tokens
Open source - Code is public and audited

What You Need

Web3 wallet (MetaMask, WalletConnect)
ETH for gas fees
Tokens to swap (or ETH)

How to Swap Tokens

Step 1: Connect Wallet

Go to app.uniswap.org
Click "Connect" in top right
Select your wallet (MetaMask, etc.)
Approve the connection

Step 2: Select Tokens

Click token selector for "From" token
Select token you want to sell
Click token selector for "To" token
Select token you want to receive

Verify Token Addresses

Anyone can create tokens with any name. Always verify contract address on CoinGecko or official project site. Scam tokens are common.

Step 3: Enter Amount

Enter amount to swap
Review estimated output
Check price impact (should be low)
Review minimum received

Step 4: Approve Token (First Time Only)

If first time using this token, approve it
This is a separate transaction
Costs gas but only needed once per token

Step 5: Confirm Swap

Click "Swap"
Review details in popup
Confirm in your wallet
Wait for transaction to complete

Slippage Settings

Click the gear icon to adjust slippage tolerance. Default 0.5% works for most trades. Increase for volatile tokens or low liquidity.

Understanding the Interface

Term	Meaning
Price Impact	How much your trade moves the price
Minimum Received	Worst case output (after slippage)
Slippage Tolerance	Max price movement you'll accept
Network Fee	Gas cost for the transaction

Providing Liquidity

Earn fees by adding to liquidity pools:

Adding Liquidity

Go to "Pool" tab
Click "New Position"
Select token pair
Choose fee tier (0.05%, 0.3%, or 1%)
Set price range (v3) or leave full range
Enter amounts and confirm

Uniswap v3 vs v2

Feature	v2	v3
Liquidity	Full range	Concentrated
Capital efficiency	Lower	Higher
Management	Passive	Active
LP tokens	Fungible	NFT positions

Uniswap Across Networks: Real Gas Costs (January 2026)

Network	Swap Cost	Add Liquidity	TVL	Best For
Ethereum Mainnet	$15-80	$30-150	$4.8B	Trades over $5k
Arbitrum	$0.10-0.50	$0.25-1.00	$1.2B	Most users
Optimism	$0.10-0.60	$0.30-1.20	$450M	Alternative L2
Polygon	$0.01-0.05	$0.02-0.10	$280M	Smallest trades
Base	$0.05-0.30	$0.15-0.80	$320M	Coinbase users

Gas Cost Reality Check

When Gas Eats Your Profits

Mainnet Example:
Swap $100 USDC to ETH
Gas cost: $35
Effective fee: 35%
You lost money on the swap!

Arbitrum Example:
Swap $100 USDC to ETH
Gas cost: $0.30
Effective fee: 0.3%
Totally reasonable

Rule: Don't use mainnet for swaps under $2,000 unless urgent

Uniswap v2 vs v3: Which to Use?

Feature	Uniswap v2	Uniswap v3
Trading	Simple, works for all	Better prices (concentrated liquidity)
LP Deposits	Full range, set and forget	Choose price ranges
Capital Efficiency	Lower	Up to 4000x better
Complexity	Easy	Advanced
LP Tokens	Fungible ERC-20	NFT positions
Management	Passive	Active (rebalancing)
Best For	Beginners, stable pairs	Experienced, volatile pairs

Which Version Should You Use?

For swapping: Always use v3 (better prices)
For LP (beginner): Start with v2 (simpler)
For LP (advanced): v3 concentrated liquidity
For stablecoins: v3 with 0.01% fee tier

Save on Gas

Uniswap interface automatically routes through v2 or v3 to get you the best price. You don't need to choose manually when swapping - it optimizes for you.

Uniswap Scams & How to Avoid Them

Fake Token Scam (Most Common)

Real Loss: $8,000 USDC for Fake PEPE

User searched "PEPE" on Uniswap
Multiple tokens appeared with same name
Selected wrong one (scam copy)
Swapped $8,000 USDC for worthless fake PEPE
Real PEPE contract: 0x6982508145454C...
Fake PEPE contract: 0x7892415145455C...

Difference: One character. Loss: Total.

Prevention: Always verify contract address on CoinGecko/CMC before trading

Honeypot Tokens (Can Buy But Not Sell)

Smart contract allows buys but blocks sells
Shows fake liquidity to lure victims
You can buy, but sell transaction always fails
Your tokens become worthless

How to Spot Honeypots

Check on honeypot.is before buying
Look at holder count (if low, suspicious)
Check if contract is verified on Etherscan
Try simulation tools (Tenderly) before real swap

Phishing Site Scams

Real Loss: Entire Wallet Drained

User clicked Google ad for "Uniswap"
Ad led to app-uniswap.org (not app.uniswap.org)
Connected wallet
Signed malicious approval
Scammers drained $45,000 from wallet

Prevention:
- Bookmark official site: app.uniswap.org
- NEVER click ads
- Check URL carefully before connecting wallet
- Use hardware wallet for large amounts

Unlimited Approval Exploit

When you approve tokens, default is "unlimited"
If Uniswap gets hacked, all approved tokens at risk
Better: Approve exact amount per transaction
Use revoke.cash to remove old approvals

Advanced Safety Checklist

Before Swapping Unknown Tokens

✓ Verify contract address on CoinGecko
✓ Check if contract is verified on Etherscan
✓ Look at holder count (should be 1000+)
✓ Check liquidity (min $50k for safety)
✓ Run through honeypot checker
✓ Check if token appears on multiple DEXs
✓ Review contract audit if available

Red Flags to Avoid

Token launched less than 48 hours ago
Less than $10k liquidity
Less than 100 holders
No verified contract
Can't find on CoinGecko/CMC
Anonymous team with no social presence
Promises of guaranteed returns

Slippage Attacks & MEV Bots

What is MEV (Maximal Extractable Value)?

Bots watch pending transactions
Front-run your trade to move price
You get worse price than expected
Bots profit from your slippage

How to Minimize MEV

Use lower slippage tolerance (0.5% for liquid pairs)
Trade during low-activity times
Use MEV-protected RPCs (CoW Swap, Flashbots)
Split large trades into smaller chunks
Consider using limit orders instead of market

Large Swap? Use Aggregators

For swaps over $10k, use aggregators like 1inch or CoW Swap:
- They split across multiple DEXs
- Better prices on large trades
- MEV protection built-in
- Often save 0.5-2% vs raw Uniswap

On a $50k swap, that's $250-1,000 saved

Uniswap LP: Advanced Section

Real LP Returns (January 2026 Data)

Pool	7-Day APY	30-Day APY	IL Risk
USDC/USDT (0.01%)	3.2%	3.5%	Very Low
ETH/USDC (0.3%)	16.4%	12.8%	Medium
ETH/USDC (0.05%)	22.1%	18.3%	Medium-High
wBTC/ETH (0.3%)	11.2%	9.7%	Low-Medium

When LP Fails on Uniswap

Concentrated liquidity goes out of range = zero fees
Gas costs exceed fees on small positions
Impermanent loss from volatile pairs
Rug pull if you LP in scam token pools