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A new economic era requires a DEX OS that is more interoperable, more responsive, and more powerful than ever. Not just to outcompete today, but to scale with the possibility of tomorrow.
That’s why we’re excited to announce MetaDEX03.
MetaDEX03 brings forward the best of MetaDEX02 and adds new and powerful features, along with an upgraded economic system that will make it the most advanced DEX OS on the market.
A new economic era requires a DEX OS that is more interoperable, more responsive, and more powerful than ever. Not just to outcompete today, but to scale with the possibility of tomorrow.
That’s why we’re excited to announce MetaDEX03.
MetaDEX03 brings forward the best of MetaDEX02 and adds new and powerful features, along with an upgraded economic system that will make it the most advanced DEX OS on the market.
The most capital-efficient AMM is getting even better. Slipstream V3 will bring upgraded dynamic fees, institutional-grade features, like KYC verified pools and order flow payments, and a revolutionary new internal MEV auction.
Slipstream V3 will be the first AMM to directly integrate an internal MEV auction directly into the AMM, intercepting and capturing value that other exchanges typically leak to chain sequencers.
Each year, MEV (Maximum Extractable Value) activity generates hundreds of millions in fees, mostly paid to sequencers. When a bot spots an arbitrage opportunity, it will pay a priority fee to jump the line to ensure its swap is executed first. This generally results in a “bidding war” that ends in the maximum priority fee a bot is willing to pay and still make a profit on the trade.
In 2024, Paradigm published a paper that floated a novel solution to this issue.
MetaDEX03 will be the first exchange to implement its recommendations. Slipstream V3 will be able to detect MEV activity and live-adjust the swap fee in response to it. In effect, this will shift the lion’s share of the MEV value generated away from sequencers and to the MetaDEX.
We project that this could generate millions in new revenue that will flow to MetaDEX Operators.
Order Flow Payments
Slipstream V3 will be the first AMM to support Robinhood + Citadel-style fee rebates and order flow payments onchain. This will allow Slipstream to give preferred rates to non-toxic flow from retail trading institutions like Coinbase, as well as support institutional global FX payments infrastructure to deliver the best rates for currency conversions and cross-border payments.
Upgraded Dynamic Fees
Slipstream V2’s dynamic fee module changed the game, adjusting fees with volatility to deliver more rewards and capture liquidity from competing DEXs. The effect was a surge pricing-like model, only possible with the MetaDEXs ability to reward LPs with a consistent stream of rewards.
In Slipstream V3, we’re making them even better, using adaptive algorithms that will smooth transitions and make them more responsive to changing market conditions.
KYC Verification
Slipstream V3 will be the first AMM designed to support the needs of institutions, adding support for institutional-grade KYC verification at the pool level. MetaDEX03 will be able to plug into any kind of ZK verification stack — from Coinbase Attestations to World ID Verifications — as well as the innovative VerifiedERC20 standard developed by Dromos Labs, Celo, and Self.xyz.
Metaswaps is a cross-chain bridge, liquidity aggregator, and swapping UI all in one — delivering an innovative and seamless cross-chain trading experience across the entire EVM.
Using generic messages, every Slipstream pool connected to our router will be a pool connected and aggregated by all the MetaDEX routers. Quotes will be fetched in real time, and the execution speed will only be bound by the underlying stablecoin transport speed.
To keep the swaps private and secure, Metaswaps will ensure sensitive details are kept separate and sent interchain using the offchain relayer, providing seamless MEV protection to swaps.
Metaswaps will be the first cross-chain solution for swaps that doesn’t require dedicated liquidity or solvers network. And because gas fees will be automatically deducted from the stablecoin powering the swap, users won’t have to worry about having native gas.
Metaswaps will be built on a Typescript SDK making it simple to integrate for wallets, aggregators, and AI agents.
MetaDEX03 will come equipped with a powerful automation suite that makes managing liquidity and locked positions easier than ever.
For token operators with locked token positions, Autopilot will optimize weekly voting across all pools — claiming, compounding, and even converting rewards from any chain.
For Liquidity Providers: Autopilot will optimize concentrated liquidity deposits, automatically rebalancing in response to market changes. It will also support one-click zap in and even auto-compound rewards back into your position.
Metalane is the native interoperability layer built into MetaDEX03 that makes cross-chain swaps faster, cheaper, and easier than ever before. With Metalane, any Slipstream pool connected to a MetaDEX router will be connected to all Slipstream pools on any chain. Metalane will be completely vendor-neutral and will use generic messaging, a common way to deliver interchain communication and execution at the largest scale.
MetaDEX03 will also have Cockpit (enhanced analytics dashboard) and Open Pools (easy integration for launchers and projects), so more to come.
MetaDEX03 upgrades the economic engine of the system with two core innovations:
REV Engine, which expands the MetaDEX’s ability to capture value
AER Engine, which expands the MetaDEX’s ability to deploy value efficiently
Together, they will make the MetaDEX more sustainable, more competitive, and far more rewarding for liquidity providers and token operators.
The REV Engine takes the MetaDEX’s category-leading revenue generation and supercharges it, enabling entirely new revenue streams and token buybacks distributed to token operators.
Today, the combined market for exchange-related services is ~$1.5 billion, including front-end fees, aggregator fees, crosschain fees, and other services that tap into the liquidity layer.
In MetaDEX03, the new REV Engine will make it possible to directly integrate these features into the core product, undercut competitors' fees, and direct the value captured to the token.
The REV Engine will use these new revenue streams to programmatically buy back the native exchange tokens off the market, providing constant, real-time buy pressure offsetting the selling of rewards by liquidity providers — and, in doing so, further enhance the ability of the MetaDEX to reward LPs at levels far above the rates of fee-only DEX models.
In short: REV Engine brings more fees in, internalizes more value, and applies continuous, programmatic buy pressure to the liquid token, all while boosting rewards for voters.
AER stands for Adaptive Emissions Rate, a system where liquidity rewards are not fixed or manually adjusted, but dynamically shaped by real onchain conditions.
It does two things: Optimize and Surge.
Optimize
AER Engine sets a dynamic emissions cap for every pool, calibrated to remain competitive while ensuring the system pays only what’s needed for healthy, growing liquidity.’
By linking each pool’s maximum rewards to the value of the fees it generates, AER keeps emissions grounded in real economic activity. The outcome:
Reward levels stay competitive with fee-based DEXs
No unnecessary overpayment, preserving efficiency
Flexibility for strategic pools to grow
AER ensures the MetaDEX consistently supports deep, responsive markets, with emissions tuned to where they create the most value.
Surge
AER Engine can also boost rewards when trading activity spikes. AER responds in real time, briefly increasing token rewards so liquidity stays deep when traders need it most and helping increase trading fee rewards token operators capture weekly.
Once activity settles, emissions automatically return to normal.
The benefit:
Liquidity stays competitive during high-volume moments
LPs earn more exactly when their capital is most valuable
The system remains efficient, adjusting only when justified
AER will give MetaDEX03 the flexibility to react to real conditions, without overspending.
Combined, these two powerful engines could massively improve token operator economics.
Based on even conservative estimates and backtesting, the REV engine could increase value captured by the protocol by 40% while AER engine is estimated to reduce emissions out by 25%. Put together, MetaDEX03 could create 2.8x more value for token operators than 02.
MetaDEX03 is the result of two years of research and development to make the world's most advanced DEXOS even more interoperable, more responsive, and more powerful. A DEX OS built not just to outcompete today. But to scale with the possibility of tomorrow.
The most capital-efficient AMM is getting even better. Slipstream V3 will bring upgraded dynamic fees, institutional-grade features, like KYC verified pools and order flow payments, and a revolutionary new internal MEV auction.
Slipstream V3 will be the first AMM to directly integrate an internal MEV auction directly into the AMM, intercepting and capturing value that other exchanges typically leak to chain sequencers.
Each year, MEV (Maximum Extractable Value) activity generates hundreds of millions in fees, mostly paid to sequencers. When a bot spots an arbitrage opportunity, it will pay a priority fee to jump the line to ensure its swap is executed first. This generally results in a “bidding war” that ends in the maximum priority fee a bot is willing to pay and still make a profit on the trade.
In 2024, Paradigm published a paper that floated a novel solution to this issue.
MetaDEX03 will be the first exchange to implement its recommendations. Slipstream V3 will be able to detect MEV activity and live-adjust the swap fee in response to it. In effect, this will shift the lion’s share of the MEV value generated away from sequencers and to the MetaDEX.
We project that this could generate millions in new revenue that will flow to MetaDEX Operators.
Order Flow Payments
Slipstream V3 will be the first AMM to support Robinhood + Citadel-style fee rebates and order flow payments onchain. This will allow Slipstream to give preferred rates to non-toxic flow from retail trading institutions like Coinbase, as well as support institutional global FX payments infrastructure to deliver the best rates for currency conversions and cross-border payments.
Upgraded Dynamic Fees
Slipstream V2’s dynamic fee module changed the game, adjusting fees with volatility to deliver more rewards and capture liquidity from competing DEXs. The effect was a surge pricing-like model, only possible with the MetaDEXs ability to reward LPs with a consistent stream of rewards.
In Slipstream V3, we’re making them even better, using adaptive algorithms that will smooth transitions and make them more responsive to changing market conditions.
KYC Verification
Slipstream V3 will be the first AMM designed to support the needs of institutions, adding support for institutional-grade KYC verification at the pool level. MetaDEX03 will be able to plug into any kind of ZK verification stack — from Coinbase Attestations to World ID Verifications — as well as the innovative VerifiedERC20 standard developed by Dromos Labs, Celo, and Self.xyz.
Metaswaps is a cross-chain bridge, liquidity aggregator, and swapping UI all in one — delivering an innovative and seamless cross-chain trading experience across the entire EVM.
Using generic messages, every Slipstream pool connected to our router will be a pool connected and aggregated by all the MetaDEX routers. Quotes will be fetched in real time, and the execution speed will only be bound by the underlying stablecoin transport speed.
To keep the swaps private and secure, Metaswaps will ensure sensitive details are kept separate and sent interchain using the offchain relayer, providing seamless MEV protection to swaps.
Metaswaps will be the first cross-chain solution for swaps that doesn’t require dedicated liquidity or solvers network. And because gas fees will be automatically deducted from the stablecoin powering the swap, users won’t have to worry about having native gas.
Metaswaps will be built on a Typescript SDK making it simple to integrate for wallets, aggregators, and AI agents.
MetaDEX03 will come equipped with a powerful automation suite that makes managing liquidity and locked positions easier than ever.
For token operators with locked token positions, Autopilot will optimize weekly voting across all pools — claiming, compounding, and even converting rewards from any chain.
For Liquidity Providers: Autopilot will optimize concentrated liquidity deposits, automatically rebalancing in response to market changes. It will also support one-click zap in and even auto-compound rewards back into your position.
Metalane is the native interoperability layer built into MetaDEX03 that makes cross-chain swaps faster, cheaper, and easier than ever before. With Metalane, any Slipstream pool connected to a MetaDEX router will be connected to all Slipstream pools on any chain. Metalane will be completely vendor-neutral and will use generic messaging, a common way to deliver interchain communication and execution at the largest scale.
MetaDEX03 will also have Cockpit (enhanced analytics dashboard) and Open Pools (easy integration for launchers and projects), so more to come.
MetaDEX03 upgrades the economic engine of the system with two core innovations:
REV Engine, which expands the MetaDEX’s ability to capture value
AER Engine, which expands the MetaDEX’s ability to deploy value efficiently
Together, they will make the MetaDEX more sustainable, more competitive, and far more rewarding for liquidity providers and token operators.
The REV Engine takes the MetaDEX’s category-leading revenue generation and supercharges it, enabling entirely new revenue streams and token buybacks distributed to token operators.
Today, the combined market for exchange-related services is ~$1.5 billion, including front-end fees, aggregator fees, crosschain fees, and other services that tap into the liquidity layer.
In MetaDEX03, the new REV Engine will make it possible to directly integrate these features into the core product, undercut competitors' fees, and direct the value captured to the token.
The REV Engine will use these new revenue streams to programmatically buy back the native exchange tokens off the market, providing constant, real-time buy pressure offsetting the selling of rewards by liquidity providers — and, in doing so, further enhance the ability of the MetaDEX to reward LPs at levels far above the rates of fee-only DEX models.
In short: REV Engine brings more fees in, internalizes more value, and applies continuous, programmatic buy pressure to the liquid token, all while boosting rewards for voters.
AER stands for Adaptive Emissions Rate, a system where liquidity rewards are not fixed or manually adjusted, but dynamically shaped by real onchain conditions.
It does two things: Optimize and Surge.
Optimize
AER Engine sets a dynamic emissions cap for every pool, calibrated to remain competitive while ensuring the system pays only what’s needed for healthy, growing liquidity.’
By linking each pool’s maximum rewards to the value of the fees it generates, AER keeps emissions grounded in real economic activity. The outcome:
Reward levels stay competitive with fee-based DEXs
No unnecessary overpayment, preserving efficiency
Flexibility for strategic pools to grow
AER ensures the MetaDEX consistently supports deep, responsive markets, with emissions tuned to where they create the most value.
Surge
AER Engine can also boost rewards when trading activity spikes. AER responds in real time, briefly increasing token rewards so liquidity stays deep when traders need it most and helping increase trading fee rewards token operators capture weekly.
Once activity settles, emissions automatically return to normal.
The benefit:
Liquidity stays competitive during high-volume moments
LPs earn more exactly when their capital is most valuable
The system remains efficient, adjusting only when justified
AER will give MetaDEX03 the flexibility to react to real conditions, without overspending.
Combined, these two powerful engines could massively improve token operator economics.
Based on even conservative estimates and backtesting, the REV engine could increase value captured by the protocol by 40% while AER engine is estimated to reduce emissions out by 25%. Put together, MetaDEX03 could create 2.8x more value for token operators than 02.
MetaDEX03 is the result of two years of research and development to make the world's most advanced DEXOS even more interoperable, more responsive, and more powerful. A DEX OS built not just to outcompete today. But to scale with the possibility of tomorrow.
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This all seems very bullish and exciting. A few questions: 1. Is the anticipating launching of v3 in Q2-2026 alongside the velo acquisition? 2. is the veAERO voting/reward system going to stay the same, specifically regarding how 100% of trading fees will be paid to voters? 3. Regarding autopilot, will you simplify how voting works, specifically right now i have a dozen different locks that i have to all vote, claim, do accounting entries for seperately, it would be very helpful to be able to do this all in a single transaction. Thanks
In 2025, Aerodrome processed $177B+ in volume and became the dominant liquidity venue on Base. That makes it one of the clearest live experiments in ve-based DEX economics today. In 2025 so far, Aerodrome processed over $177B in total trading volume, driven primarily by Slipstream pools. Concentrated liquidity quickly became the dominant venue, with the WETH–USDC (CL100) pool ranking as the highest APY pool across all chains at ~57.5% APY in 2025. Aerodrome also emerged as the primary liquidity venue on Base. Throughout the year, it consistently held over 50% of DEX TVL and market share, ahead of alternatives like Uniswap, PancakeSwap, and Balancer. This dominance persisted through multiple market rotations, suggesting liquidity was relatively durable rather than purely incentive-driven(one of my fav things about Aerodrome). Locking behavior reinforced that picture. On average, ~50% of AERO supply remained locked, with an average lock duration of ~3.7 years. The majority of veAERO positions clustered near maximum lock length, creating long-term alignment between token holders, liquidity incentives, and governance outcomes. From a system design perspective, these three dynamics mattered more than headline APRs: - Sustained volume throughput, - Persistent liquidity share - Long-dated token commitment. Together, they suggest Aerodrome in late 2025 functioned less like a short-term liquidity program and more like a capital coordination system with durable participation. Bribe markets also matured over the year, with more protocols returning for recurring campaigns rather than one-off incentives, suggesting liquidity acquisition costs were competitive. Fee intensity relative to TVL also remained elevated through most of 2025, indicating strong utilization of deployed liquidity. 2026: MetaDEX03, expansion, and what needs to go right Looking ahead to 2026, Aerodrome and Velodrome plan to unify under MetaDEX03, expanding beyond Base and positioning the system not as a single DEX deployment, but as a broader DEX operating system. It's an attempt to redesign how liquidity is coordinated, priced, and monetized across chains. At the core of the MetaDEX03 vision are two ideas: 1. Capture more of the value that currently leaks out of DEXs 2. Deploy incentives more efficiently, based on real on-chain conditions rather than fixed schedules. On the value capture side, MetaDEX03 introduces an internal MEV auction and order flow mechanisms designed to intercept value that today primarily accrues to sequencers, searchers, or external intermediaries. The idea is to detect MEV-driven activity, dynamically adjust fees in response, and internalize a portion of that value directly into the protocol’s economic engine. If successful, this would meaningfully change the revenue profile of a DEX, shifting it away from fee-only models and toward a more diversified set of cash flows. This matters because liquidity on Ethereum L1 is expensive. Sustainable liquidity on L1 cannot rely indefinitely on token emissions alone. For MetaDEX03 to work in a more competitive environment, real revenue needs to offset sell pressure, otherwise the system risks reverting to short-term incentive cycles. This is where the REV Engine becomes central. By aggregating revenue streams such as MEV capture, aggregator fees, cross-chain routing fees, and order flow payments, MetaDEX03 aims to programmatically recycle value back into the system via buybacks and rewards to token operators. In theory, this creates continuous demand for the token that counterbalances liquidity provider selling, reducing reliance on inflation as the primary incentive mechanism. On the incentive deployment side, MetaDEX03 introduces the AER (Adaptive Emissions Rate) Engine. Instead of static emissions schedules or manual governance tuning, emissions are intended to respond dynamically to real market activity. Pools with strong fee generation receive competitive rewards, while overpayment for underutilized liquidity is reduced. During periods of sudden demand, emissions can temporarily surge to maintain depth, then normalize once conditions stabilize. If implemented correctly, this is a meaningful evolution from earlier ve-based models. It attempts to turn emissions from a blunt instrument into a responsive control system, grounded in actual economic output. MetaDEX03 also expands the scope of the system through cross-chain liquidity routing (Metaswaps), automation (Autopilot), and an interoperability layer (Metalane). These components aim to make liquidity and governance portable across chains, reducing fragmentation and allowing incentives to operate at a broader network level rather than being siloed per deployment. That said, the 2026 expansion introduces several open questions that will determine whether this model can succeed beyond Base. First, execution risk. Internal MEV capture and dynamic fee adjustment are technically complex and highly adversarial environments. The difference between theoretical value capture and realized value is non-trivial, especially on Ethereum L1 where MEV competition is intense. If capture rates are meaningfully lower than expected, the revenue flywheel weakens. Second, economic sufficiency. For the REV Engine to materially change outcomes, non-emission revenue must be large enough to offset both LP sell pressure and the opportunity cost of providing liquidity on L1. If revenues remain marginal relative to emissions, the system risks carrying L2-style economics into an L1 environment where they may not be competitive. Third, behavioral continuity. A key pillar of Aerodrome’s 2025 performance was long-dated lock behavior and consistent governance participation. It would be interesting to see whether similar lock culture persists in a higher-fee, more mature L1 environment, where participants may be less willing to commit capital for multi-year horizons. Final Thoughts: MetaDEX03 is one of the most ambitious attempts so far to push ve-economics beyond emissions-driven liquidity and toward a genuinely revenue-subsidized, adaptive liquidity coordination system. The data from @base.base.eth provides a strong foundation, but 2026 is the real test. Historically, ve(3,3) designs have struggled to scale or hold up over time. x.com/DromosLabs is the first team that has actually made this model work in practice, and if they execute correctly on their expansion, they have a real opportunity to capture a meaningful share of the existing on-chain liquidity market. Personally, I hope they succeed. If they do, it would mark an important step forward for how on-chain liquidity is coordinated and rewarded.
Highly recommend everyone to go through the MetaDEX03 blog: https://blog.dromos.xyz/introducing-metadex03 A lot of cool things I didn't cover but worth going through.
Aero Economic Upgrades The REV & AER engines are built for 1 purpose: To optimize the Aero economy by increasing value coming in and decreasing value going out Based on estimates & back-testing, these engines are set to: Increase value in by 40%📈 Decrease value out by 25%📉
The REV engine will capture new revenue streams for Aero: DEX Aggregator Fees Front-end Fees Bridging Fees Auto-compounders & more This new value will in turn be used to programmatically buyback liquid Aero. These tokens will then be redistributed to Aero operators and boost weekly rewards.
The Adaptive Emissions Rate (AER) engine will update the entire reward system, making emissions responsive to the market in real-time. First, by setting a dynamic emissions cap for every pool, calibrated to remain competitive and never emitting more than what is needed. And second, by dialing up rewards to incentivize liquidity during periods of increased trading activity. Thus, optimizing Aero for deep and productive liquidity in rapidly-changing market conditions. For more on the new Aero economy: https://blog.dromos.xyz/introducing-metadex03
Aero Economic Upgrades The REV & AER engines are built for 1 purpose: To optimize the Aero economy by increasing value coming in and decreasing value going out Based on estimates & back-testing, these engines are set to: Increase value in by 40%📈 Decrease value out by 25%📉
The REV engine will capture new revenue streams for Aero: DEX Aggregator Fees Front-end Fees Bridging Fees Auto-compounders & more This new value will in turn be used to programmatically buyback liquid Aero. These tokens will then be redistributed to Aero operators and boost weekly rewards.
The Adaptive Emissions Rate (AER) engine will update the entire reward system, making emissions responsive to the market in real-time. First, by setting a dynamic emissions cap for every pool, calibrated to remain competitive and never emitting more than what is needed. And second, by dialing up rewards to incentivize liquidity during periods of increased trading activity. Thus, optimizing Aero for deep and productive liquidity in rapidly-changing market conditions. For more on the new Aero economy: https://blog.dromos.xyz/introducing-metadex03