Scaling V4 and Supporting Unichain

Requests for Comment
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Scaling V4 and Supporting Unichain

GFX Labs proposes that the Uniswap DAO allocate funding to support the integration of Uniswap V4 on Ethereum in Oku, grant GFX Labs a blanket license exemption for future V4 deployments, and to add support for Unichain on Oku. This initiative aims to enhance Uniswap’s reach, encourage liquidity migration to V4, and solidify the protocol’s position as the leading decentralized exchange.

Background

In 2022, GFX Labs was granted $1.6M from the Uniswap DAO to scale the Uniswap ecosystem and expand the protocol’s presence across EVM chains. Today, Oku is live across 30+ chains, and we have expanded our services to offer best-in-class bridge and trade aggregation. With a dedicated interface for V3 pool analytics and a simplified LP management interface, Oku has served as a consistent and scalable growth channel for the wider Uniswap ecosystem.

We’ve deployed to a wide range of chains at our own expense – far exceeding the original scope of the grant – and have generated a high ROI by accelerating Uniswap adoption across new environments. Now, with the advent of Uniswap V4, it’s time to build the next generation of tooling for the next wave of liquidity.

Scale V4 and Add Unichain Support

Since the launch of Uniswap V4 in January 2025, we’ve seen a surge in interest from users, partners, and hook developers eager to experiment with the new protocol’s capabilities. As one of the most active contributors to the Uniswap ecosystem infrastructure, GFX Labs views this momentum as a timely opportunity to scale V4 usage, reduce friction for LP’ing, and host an environment for hook developers to showcase their innovative pool adaptations. As we have provided for V3, GFX Labs will develop a dedicated V4 analytics interface to support hooked pool discovery and performance tracking.

Who benefits?

The Uniswap DAO’s ability to expand V4’s reach heavily depends on ecosystem builders and infrastructure. That is why supporting the flywheel between hook builders, liquidity migrators/providers, and traders is crucial. With V4’s flexibility also comes complexity. It is key that each stakeholder’s user experience and needs are addressed and iterated upon so V4 can become the dominant DEX protocol. Oku will fill the gaps and support ecosystem players as a base layer user interface for developers, LPs, traders, and chains. EVM chains with V4 enabled will have separate interfaces to distinguish between hooked and vanilla pools.

Hook Devs: Hook developers thrive when LP’ing is made easy, unlocking exposure to their unique market architecture

LPs: Intuitive position management tools and highlighted yield farming opportunities for V4 pools

Traders: Option to include V4 “hooked” pools for unique trading strategies & best execution

DAO: Expand V4 footprint across all chains and highlight market opportunities for unique market structures

Proposed Plan

V4 Development Scope

  • V4 Liquidity management
  • Pool analytics with historical performance data
  • Oku V4 data API for anyone building in the Uniswap ecosystem
  • Hook pool discovery via V4 analytics dashboard
  • Routing support for V4 traders

For the one-time integration and build-out of V4 on Ethereum Mainnet into Oku, we are requesting a total of $250K. The Uniswap DAO could expect delivery within two months of the proposal passing. Post launch, Oku will continue to improve the V4 interface and iterate based on feedback.

  • Backend infrastructure: $150,000. This would primarily focus on indexing the V4 protocol, adding a routing setup for V4 markets, and updating our peripheral systems to support V4.
  • Frontend development: $100,000. There are two phases here. The first would be designing new UI elements for pool creation, V4 LPing, V4 analytics, V4 trading, and any other UI updates necessary to support V3 and V4 in the same interface. The second phase is implementing the design improvements.

Unichain Deployment on Oku

  • Within two weeks of this proposal passing, Unichain and the V3 deployment will be available in Oku. Unichain users will have access to a full suite of Oku features, including a smart routing system integrated into 10 trade routers and 11 bridges.
  • As soon as we have the minimum viable backend and frontend support for V4, we will integrate the Unichain V4 deployment.

Given our long-standing relationship with the DAO and our concurrent request for the initial V4 integration, GFX Labs will waive the standard integration fee for integrating Unichain with Oku. Recognizing the benefit of a synergistic V3/V4 offering, instead we are requesting $90k - $7.5k per month - to cover operational and maintenance related costs. This cost structure is representative of preferential pricing for the Uniswap DAO.

Permissionless Licensing Agreement

GFX Labs is requesting a blanket Additional Use Grant, which provides licensing permissions for V4 deployments to streamline the process of bringing V4 to new chains. As an established partner of the Uniswap ecosystem, this process maximizes the DAO’s ability to scale efficiently, support hook innovation, and increase V4 pool dominance across EVM. A license for V4 deployments acts as an accelerant for adoption amongst new and existing networks and is critical for the Uniswap ecosystem to defend market dominance. GFX Labs strongly aligns with the UAC’s suggestion to provide licensing rights to maintain a competitive edge before v4 becomes open source. Further, any deployment completed by GFX must be reviewed by the UAC to be considered official.

With a new emphasis on V4 infrastructure, Oku further aligns itself as a standard bearer for the Uniswap ecosystem, with a focus on expanding utility and interoperability across EVM environments. By funding this proposal, the DAO positions itself to scale V4 usage, promote novel onchain markets, and support unique market innovation from the ground up.

5 Likes
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I genuinely believe Oku seems to be one of protocols that falls under grant scopes that the Uniswap Foundation received. Wondering reasons why it fell outside their scope if the team already discussed with the Foundation but they decided not to support part of their grant scope.

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AlphaGrowth, which leads the Uniswap Growth Program, supports this proposal. Through the Growth Program Trail, we’ve seen the critical role front-end partners like Oku play in scaling Uniswap across ecosystems. Oku has supported deployments across 30+ chains and consistently added value by helping Uniswap capture and retain market share. With various networks now exploring Uniswap V4 deployments and networks like Ink already live but lacking front-end infrastructure, Oku is well-positioned to fill this gap and accelerate V4 adoption.

This proposal would also unlock high-potential opportunities currently in our Growth Program pipeline, including networks interested in launching incentive programs with the V4 deployments.

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In general, we’re in favor of scaling v4 and Unichain. GFX Labs has contributed a lot to Uniswap’s multi-chain growth and we support the team. That said, we share the concern raised by @Doo_StableLab regarding the funding approach for this proposal. The $250K request for v4 feels like it falls squarely under the existing UF grants mandate. It seems more sustainable for the UF’s funding pipeline to cover this work, rather than dipping back into DAO treasury funds for an out-of-band request.

From a long-term sustainability perspective, we’d rather see the DAO adhere to established funding channels to avoid overlap or establish precedent for bypassing the Foundation’s role. Our stance is not a critique of Oku/GFX – which we wholeheartedly support – but rather about ensuring we use the right funding mechanism.

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I’d like to ask the proposer @GFXlabs and the broader community: what would be the benefit for Uniswap in deploying Oku on Ethereum —the most important network, where Uniswap already has a strong presence— thereby creating direct competition with its own official front-end and everything that comes with it (brand, integrations, metrics, communication, etc.)?

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Thank you, @Doo_StableLab, @Boardroom, and @alphaGrowth, for your feedback and support. We greatly appreciate AlphaGrowth’s endorsement of Oku’s role in scaling Uniswap’s ecosystem.

To address @Doo_StableLab and @Boardroom’s questions about why we’re pursuing funding directly from the Uniswap DAO rather than the Uniswap Foundation (UF), our reasoning is twofold:

Over the past year, GFX Labs has engaged in multiple conversations with the UF about building tooling for Uniswap V4 and integrating Oku with Unichain. We shared our vision for supporting hook developers, LPs, and traders with V4 analytics, LP management, and trading interfaces, as well as enabling Unichain’s V3 and V4 deployments. However, the UF consistently indicated that our initiatives did not align with their priorities. Given their discretion over grant funding and the lack of traction in these discussions, we determined that submitting this specific proposal to the UF would likely delay progress. Instead, we opted for the DAO’s onchain process, which, while taking three weeks, ensures transparency and community input while aligning with the urgency of scaling V4 adoption.

Additionally, the request for a blanket Additional Use Grant to streamline V4 deployments across EVM chains necessitates an onchain DAO proposal, as it involves governance approval beyond the UF’s scope. Combining this with the funding request allows us to address both objectives efficiently in a single proposal.

That said, we’re fully open to collaborating with the UF if they express interest in funding this work.

We’re excited about the opportunity to scale Uniswap V4, support Unichain, and drive ecosystem growth. We invite further feedback from the community. Please let us know if you have additional questions or suggestions!

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Of course Oku / GFX team probably can respond to this better but in my opinion, Oku has been a way to utilize Uniswap pool and swaps without having to pay fee that the current Uniswap official frontends have. Oku also has more chains supported on their front end. Here’s from Uniswap frontend:

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and this one is from Oku Frontend

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