With the recently approved Uniswap Growth Program Trial, the UEII was set up to apply for different incentives and grants across the different chains Uniswap is deployed on. Collectively, we will use this thread as a communication thread to the community on updates for this initiative.
In Season 6 of the Optimism Governance Cycle, we applied and recently received 2 grants to incentivize YBAs and LRTs on Optimism. Over the next few months, we will work with different partners to allocate these incentives with the overarching goal of increasing TVL. More updates to come as incentives start!
Incentives will start in the next few weeks and continue for an estimated ~6 months.
Uniswap has been accepted into the first season of zkSync’s Ignite program, an initiative that will allocate 100M ZK token across various DeFi protocols. There will be a total of 3 seasons, and each will have the same number of tokens up for grabs. Season 1 ends on March 31st.
The program operates on a bi-weekly cycle, where OpenBlock Labs, serving as the analytics manager, reviews protocols’ performance and recommends token allocations based on those data. These recommendations are subject to review by a five-member DeFi Steering Committee (DSC), which holds veto power over key decisions to ensure the program’s strategic alignment. We are communicating with their team to ensure this process is facilitated smoothly.
Example metrics for further incentivization include (subject to change over time):
Correspondingly, each cycle may have different allocation sizes and pools.
A total of 15 protocols received allocations for this cycle. Below are the selected pools for the next two weeks. You may view Uniswap’s Ignite dashboard here.
| Description | Address | ZK Allocation |
|---|---|---|
| USDC/USDC.e v3 0.01% | 0x23c77a553aac0ad009441c856c05d117c1131e3d | 23,010.45 |
| USDC/ETH v3 0.3% | 0xeecb86c38c4667b46487255f41c6904df3d76f8f | 11,868.77 |
| USDC.e/ZK v3 0.3% | 0xa0769a3c6af68812bb3a5cbd511f7879033440eb | 87,111.54 |
| ZK/ETH v3 0.3% | 0x3d7264539e6e3f596bb485e3091f3ae02ad01ef8 | 176,255.94 |
As Uniswap is allocated more incentives, we will update this present thread. After two cycles, we plan on working with the UAC to see if it’s worthwhile to co-incentivize this program as it will increase APRs, leading to further matching by the Ignite team.
Below are the reward pools and distribution amounts for the biweekly period between Jan 20 - Feb 3:
| Description | Address | ZK Allocation |
|---|---|---|
| ZK/ETH v3 0.3% | 0x3d7264539e6e3f596bb485e3091f3ae02ad01ef8 | 201,545.92 |
| USDC.e/ZK v3 0.3% | 0xa0769a3c6af68812bb3a5cbd511f7879033440eb | 158,368.73 |
| USDC/USDC.e v3 0.01% | 0x23c77a553aac0ad009441c856c05d117c1131e3d | 100,595.00 |
| USDC/ETH v3 0.3% | 0xeecb86c38c4667b46487255f41c6904df3d76f8f | 28,614.76 |
The milestones for the Season 6 grants the DAO received earlier have been completed, and the second tranche has been allocated. With the remaining incentives, we plan to continue to incentivize the mandated YBAs and LRTs on Optimism including rETH, wstETH, sfrxETH, USDM, etc. These will be distributed through different partners including OKX and individual quests.
A further complete breakdown of incentivized pools and programs will also be updated in the coming weeks.
Below are the reward pools and distribution amounts for the coming biweekly period (starting Feb 3):
| Description | Address | ZK Allocation |
|---|---|---|
| USDC-USDC.e 0.01% | 0x23c77a553aac0ad009441c856c05d117c1131e3d | 120,714.00 |
| WETH-ZK 0.3% | 0x3d7264539e6e3f596bb485e3091f3ae02ad01ef8 | 181,391.33 |
| USDC.e-ZK 0.3% | 0xa0769a3c6af68812bb3a5cbd511f7879033440eb | 213,797.79 |
| USDC-WETH 0.3% | 0xeecb86c38c4667b46487255f41c6904df3d76f8f | 37,199.19 |
Below are the reward pools and distribution amounts for the current biweekly period (between Feb 17 - March 3):
| Description | Address | ZK Allocation |
|---|---|---|
| USDC-USDC.e 0.01% | 0x23c77a553aac0ad009441c856c05d117c1131e3d | 88,126.29 |
| WETH-ZK 0.3% | 0x3d7264539e6e3f596bb485e3091f3ae02ad01ef8 | 200,334.80 |
| USDC-WETH 0.3% | 0xeecb86c38c4667b46487255f41c6904df3d76f8f | 257,199.19 |
The primary adjustment for this round was the removal of the USDC.e-ZK 0.3% pool, however, the overall amount of $ZK allocated to this cycle is nearly the same as the last round.
One of the main goals for season 1 of the program is to reduce USDC–ETH slippage for a $1M trade, which is currently ~2.4% across all DEXs. Hence, the majority of the rewards this cycle are directed towards the Uniswap USDC-WETH 0.3% pool.
As far as impact of the incentives as of Feb 17, the results vary widely depending on the pool, with USDC-WETH 0.3% yielding the best results and the WETH-ZK 0.3% pools producing the worst results.
| Pool | TVL Change per $1 Incentives | Volume Change per $1 Incentives |
|---|---|---|
| USDC.e-ZK 0.3% | 7.49 | 1.7 |
| WETH-ZK 0.3% | 2.32 | -3.57 |
| USDC-WETH 0.3% | 124.53 | 26.05 |
| USDC.e-USDC 0.01% | 66.97 | 8.82 |
The native $ZK token pairs have not performed as well as USDC and ETH pools, which is indicative of Uniswap lagging behind some native DEXs with native token trading—but sustaining activity for non-native blue chip assets.
