Uniswap has carried out one of the largest token burns ever seen in decentralized finance, permanently removing 100 million UNI tokens from its treasury.
The burn, valued at roughly $596 million at the time of execution, followed a governance decision approved earlier in the week.
Onchain data shows the transaction was completed at approximately 4:30 am UTC on Dec. 28, confirming the first large-scale implementation of the proposal, according to analyst EmberCN.
The move immediately reduced UNI’s total circulating supply, marking a significant milestone for the Uniswap ecosystem and its long-term token economics.
Governance Approval Signals Strong Community Consensus
The burn was enabled by the passage of the highly anticipated Uniswap protocol fee switch, known as “UNIfication.”
The proposal passed on Thursday with an overwhelming 99.9% of votes cast in favor.
More than 125 million UNI tokens supported the measure, while just 742 tokens were recorded as votes against, highlighting near-universal agreement among participants.
Several influential figures in the crypto industry backed the proposal using their voting power.
Supporters included Jesse Waldren, founder and managing partner at crypto-focused venture capital firm Variant, Kain Warwick, founder of Infinex and Synthetix, and Ian Lapham, a former engineer at Uniswap Labs.
The scale of backing reflected broad confidence that the changes would strengthen Uniswap’s sustainability and long-term value proposition.
Uniswap Labs Confirms Onchain Execution
Uniswap Labs publicly confirmed that the burn had been successfully executed.
In a post on X, the company stated that “UNIfication has officially been executed onchain.”
As part of the rollout, interface fees charged directly by Uniswap Labs were reduced to zero.
At the same time, protocol fees were activated on Uniswap v2 and selected v3 pools on Ethereum mainnet.
Fees generated on Unichain are also set to contribute to future UNI burns after covering Optimism and Layer-1 data costs.
This structure aims to align protocol usage more closely with value accrual for the UNI token.
Market Reaction and Supply Impact
The market responded positively following confirmation of the burn.
UNI rose more than 5% over the past 24 hours, accompanied by increases in both trading volume and market capitalization.
Following the transaction, UNI’s circulating supply now stands at approximately 730 million tokens out of a fixed maximum supply of 1 billion.
Analysts noted that the reduction in supply, combined with a clearer fee framework, could support stronger long-term token fundamentals.
The burn has also reignited discussion around UNI’s role as a governance and value-capture asset within decentralized finance.
Foundation Commits to Continued Ecosystem Growth
Alongside the burn, the Uniswap Foundation reiterated its commitment to supporting developers and builders.
When introducing the proposal, the foundation stated it would continue funding grants and would not scale back programs that support protocol development.
Developer support was described as a core priority for maintaining innovation across the Uniswap ecosystem.
To reinforce this commitment, the foundation plans to establish a dedicated Growth Budget.
This budget will allocate 20 million UNI tokens to fund expansion, tooling, and development initiatives across the network.
The combination of aggressive supply reduction and sustained investment signals a dual strategy focused on efficiency and growth.
