🚀 THE UNEXPECTED JOURNEY OF UNISWAP FOUNDER $UNI – HAYDEN ADAMS!
From an unemployed engineer, Hayden Adams built Uniswap – the world's largest decentralized exchange (DEX), completely changing the DeFi landscape in just a few years.
📅 July 2017 – Starting from Zero
Lost his job at Siemens, had no clear direction.
Suggested by Karl Floersch (an Ethereum engineer) to explore blockchain.
Started learning Solidity full-time and read Vitalik Buterin's article on the AMM (Automated Market Maker) model.
Wrote his first lines of code for Uniswap himself.
💡 Late 2017 – The First Prototype Emerges
Completed Uniswap v0, the first experimental version of AMM.
No company, no funding, all self-invested.
💰 Early 2018 – Secured Funding from Ethereum Foundation
Lacked funds to hire an audit for the project.
Trusted by Ken Ng, received a grant from Ethereum Foundation.
Used all the funds for official auditing and development.
🔥 November 2018 – Official Launch of Uniswap v1
Launched at Devcon4 in Prague.
Simple model x * y = k became the foundation of DeFi.
Vitalik Buterin invested initially in the ETH pool.
Paradigm invested, and Uniswap Labs was established.
🌍 May 2020 – Uniswap v2 Expands Ecosystem
Supported ERC20 – ERC20 pairs, opening the door for many new projects.
Launched UNI token and airdropped 400 UNI to early users.
Reached $1 billion in daily trading volume, becoming the largest DEX in the world.
⚖️ 2022–2024 – Ups and Downs
2022: Personal accounts frozen, faced a class-action lawsuit.
2023: UI Fee activated.
2024: Received a “Wells Notice” from SEC, Uniswap responded publicly and established the DeFi Education Fund (DEF).
UI Fee revenue hit $100 million.
🚀 2025 – A Historic Turning Point for UNI
February 2025: SEC officially closes investigation.
November 2025: Hayden Adams proposes activating the Fee Switch + token burn mechanism.
Burned 100 million UNI from the treasury, restructured the entire system.
Voluntarily relinquished $170 million in UI fees.
Community in shock – UNI price surged over 40%.
💎 From Zero to the Leading DeFi Empire Hayden Adams – from an unemployed individual in 2017, created Uniswap – a project that has airdropped over $6 billion, reached a market cap of over $8 billion, and remains the heart of DeFi today.
✅ In summary: Uniswap is not just a product, but a symbol of the Web3 spirit – proof that with a simple idea, faith, and effort, you can change the entire world of decentralized finance.
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UNI's future is stable
From an unemployed engineer, Hayden Adams built Uniswap – the world's largest decentralized exchange (DEX), completely changing the DeFi landscape in just a few years.
📅 July 2017 – Starting from Zero
Lost his job at Siemens, had no clear direction.
Suggested by Karl Floersch (an Ethereum engineer) to explore blockchain.
Started learning Solidity full-time and read Vitalik Buterin's article on the AMM (Automated Market Maker) model.
Wrote his first lines of code for Uniswap himself.
💡 Late 2017 – The First Prototype Emerges
Completed Uniswap v0, the first experimental version of AMM.
No company, no funding, all self-invested.
💰 Early 2018 – Secured Funding from Ethereum Foundation
Lacked funds to hire an audit for the project.
Trusted by Ken Ng, received a grant from Ethereum Foundation.
Used all the funds for official auditing and development.
🔥 November 2018 – Official Launch of Uniswap v1
Launched at Devcon4 in Prague.
Simple model x * y = k became the foundation of DeFi.
Vitalik Buterin invested initially in the ETH pool.
Paradigm invested, and Uniswap Labs was established.
🌍 May 2020 – Uniswap v2 Expands Ecosystem
Supported ERC20 – ERC20 pairs, opening the door for many new projects.
DeFi began to explode globally.
💸 August–September 2020 – Historic Fundraising & Airdrop
Raised $11 million Series A from a16z.
Launched UNI token and airdropped 400 UNI to early users.
Reached $1 billion in daily trading volume, becoming the largest DEX in the world.
⚖️ 2022–2024 – Ups and Downs
2022: Personal accounts frozen, faced a class-action lawsuit.
2023: UI Fee activated.
2024: Received a “Wells Notice” from SEC, Uniswap responded publicly and established the DeFi Education Fund (DEF).
UI Fee revenue hit $100 million.
🚀 2025 – A Historic Turning Point for UNI
February 2025: SEC officially closes investigation.
November 2025: Hayden Adams proposes activating the Fee Switch + token burn mechanism.
Burned 100 million UNI from the treasury, restructured the entire system.
Voluntarily relinquished $170 million in UI fees.
Community in shock – UNI price surged over 40%.
💎 From Zero to the Leading DeFi Empire
Hayden Adams – from an unemployed individual in 2017, created Uniswap – a project that has airdropped over $6 billion, reached a market cap of over $8 billion, and remains the heart of DeFi today.
✅ In summary:
Uniswap is not just a product, but a symbol of the Web3 spirit – proof that with a simple idea, faith, and effort, you can change the entire world of decentralized finance.