Everything is ready for Uniswap v4: launch expected after the Ethereum Dencun update

According to the Uniswap Foundation, the long-awaited version 4 of the decentralized exchange Uniswap will arrive in the third quarter of 2024, following the implementation of the Dencun upgrade of the Ethereum blockchain, scheduled for March 13th.

Uniswap v4 introduces the concept of “hooks” that allows for efficient liquidity management within the protocol and enables a wider range of use cases for smart contracts.

All the details below.

The v2 version of the decentralized exchange Uniswap coming after the Ethereum Dencun update

Uniswap Foundation, the decentralized autonomous organization that supports the Uniswap cryptographic exchange protocol, has announced that it will release version v4 of the platform in the third quarter of the current year.

First of all, the founder of the project Hayden Adams and all the developers working on the DEX want to wait for the Dencun update of the Ethereum blockchain to run its course and be successfully executed.

In particular, Dencun, whose implementation is expected on March 13th, will help make the network more scalable by compressing block data and storing part of it separately. 

All of this will open the doors for Uniswap to explore new functionalities within its own platform, expanding connections with the Ethereum network and offering more efficient products.

The Uniswap team has revealed the roadmap for its upgrade to version 4, explaining that at this moment the work is in the “Code Freeze” phase, where they are completing the main code, conducting tests, optimizing gas, improving security, and finalizing the periphery.

The next phase will involve testing their own infrastructure with preliminary checks at specific auditing companies, along with a community audit contest.

In this moment, the v4 of Uniswap will be distributed in testnet, and eventually small modifications will be made to the code.

Finally, the last phase concerns the actual launch, accompanied by the related promotion and marketing initiatives.

The new version of the industry-leading DEX will leverage the recent Ethereum improvement proposals (EIP, specifically EIP-4788, EIP-1153, and EIP-4844) for a more efficient utilization of liquidity in the platform’s pools.

With v4, the concept of “hook” will be introduced for the first time in DeFi, which allows the injection of custom logic at specifically designated points for pools, swaps, fees, and other LP positions.

This amplifies the use cases of Uniswap and explores new solutions for smart contract engagement, with significant reductions in gas fees and always immediate interactions, combined with better resource management for end users.

The positive effects of Dencun on the Ethereum blockchain

While Uniswap awaits the implementation of Dencun on the Ethereum blockchain, the community of the world’s leading smart contract platform is buzzing with excitement for one of the most significant updates ever witnessed so far.

Dencun was previously launched on January 17th on the Goerli testnet (with some difficulties and a 4-hour delay) specifically to test some new features.

On January 31st, it was then the turn of the Sepolia testnet, and finally on February 11th, the Holesky testnet, completing the final preparations before the arrival in mainnet.

Now the official launch to the general public, as highlighted by the blockchain research company “Nethermind”, is scheduled for March 13th at 13:55:35 UTC, at block height “8626176”.

The Ethereum developers have decided on the official launch date unanimously during the so-called consensus level call 127 after the success of Holesky.

From a technical point of view, Dencun will enable a new type of transaction called “proto-danksharding” that will help reduce transaction costs on Ethereum’s rollups, with obvious benefits also for DEXs like Uniswap.

More precisely, the “proto-danksharding” is a preliminary measure of the technical functionality of “danksharding”, which opens the doors to future implementations on the L1 backbone infrastructure.

For now, Dencun will be responsible for compressing the transaction data contained in the rollups and storing part of it in an external storage, helping to reduce the weight of the blocks and thus reducing fees for the end user.”

In addition, the same update will help reduce the cost of data available on Ethereum, creating advantageous conditions for projects such as Celestia, Avail, and EigenDA.

With the L2 market on Ethereum experiencing strong growth, as reported by the increase in the overall TVL of this sector, we expect Dencun to revolutionize the aspect of network scaling by bringing greater efficiency and a larger influx of new users.