Uniswap V4 launch, featuring 'hooks,' tentatively set for Q3

The Uniswap  Foundation said the upcoming launch of Uniswap’s version 4 protocol is tentatively scheduled to take place in the third quarter of this year. “Uniswap v4’s launch is tentatively set for Q3 2024,” the foundation said .

This timeframe depends on the implementation of Ethereum’s upcoming Dencun hard fork, slated to take place in March. The V4 upgrade will follow a comprehensive security audit of the protocol starting from Dencun.

Uniswap is the most widely used automated market maker — a decentralized exchange that facilitates trading between tokens using liquidity pools rather than relying on traditional order books where buyers and sellers directly match orders.

Launched in 2018, Uniswap has undergone several iterations, with Uniswap V3 being the current one, introduced in May 2021. The main feature of V3 is that it supports “concentrated liquidity” — allowing liquidity providers to choose specific price ranges where their capital operates to earn higher fees.

The V4 draft code points to a shift towards a more modular structure for Uniswap, predominantly through incorporating “hooks.” These hooks are smart contracts that will facilitate additional customization in Uniswap’s liquidity pools using methods such as dynamic fees, on-chain limit orders and customized on-chain oracles.

The V4 release will also introduce a “flash accounting” system that will result in lower fees for liquidity providers. The mechanism relies on “transient storage,” which will be activated by the proposed EIP-1153 change in Ethereum’s protocol, due to be integrated in the upcoming Dencun upgrade.