Event Timeline
About Uniswap
Uniswap is the largest decentralized exchange on Ethereum, pioneering the automated market maker (AMM) model where trades execute against liquidity pools instead of an order book. Launched in 2018 by Hayden Adams, it introduced the UNI governance token in September 2020 with a landmark retroactive airdrop — 400 UNI to every one of ~250,000 past users. UNI holders govern the protocol treasury and fee decisions.
Leading AMM DEX, launched Sep 17, 2020 with a 1B genesis supply and the landmark retroactive airdrop — 400 UNI to every one of ~250k past users. Allocation: 60% Community (of which 15% / 150M was the airdrop and ~45% / 450M is the governance treasury), 21.51% Team & Employees (215.1M), 17.80% Investors (178M), 0.69% Advisors (6.9M) — all insiders on 4-year vesting (now complete). Combined insiders were ~40%, but the community-first split and huge airdrop made it the model for retroactive drops. Note: after the 4-year vest, UNI shifted to a perpetual 2% annual inflation, so supply now slowly grows; trades ~$8 vs ~$45 ATH. Category = Dex; Airdrop Status = Done. Sources.
Get a wallet
Connect
Swap tokens
Provide liquidity
Hold UNI
Was the Uniswap airdrop worth it?
- The retroactive drop was life-changing money for some. 400 UNI to every past user was worth ~$1,200 at claim and ~$17,600 at UNI's 2021 peak — for a single prior swap, no farming required.
- Timing decided the real payout. UNI trades near $8 today, far below its ~$44 high, so the windfall was only realized by those who claimed and sold into strength — many forgot to claim or held the round trip.
- It rewrote the rulebook. Uniswap made "retroactive" the default — no tasks, no points, just genuine past usage — and nearly every major airdrop since has copied the model.
This airdrop has concluded. It is kept for research rather than participation.
