Uniswap (UNI)

Tokenomics & Utility

Distribution and governance

One billion UNI tokens were created when UNI launched in 2020. The initial plan assigned 60% to the community, about 21.27% to team members and future employees, about 18.04% to investors, and 0.69% to advisers. Part of the community allocation went to earlier users; another part was placed in a governance treasury for initiatives such as grants. The launch plan also provided for a 2% annual inflation rate after its first four years. (blog.uniswap.org)

UNI holders can vote on governance proposals or delegate their voting power to someone who votes on their behalf. Decisions can concern treasury spending, protocol settings, and expansion to new networks. Voting gives holders a formal say, while active participation determines how broadly that say is used. (blog.uniswap.org)

A major change came through the UNIfication governance proposal, approved in December 2025. It enabled protocol fees on selected pools and directed the resulting value into a process that burns UNI, meaning tokens are permanently removed from use. The proposal also included a burn of 100 million UNI from the governance treasury. Fee collection has since expanded across versions and networks. This model links some protocol activity to UNI’s supply, while governance continues to set the scope of fee collection. (gov.uniswap.org)