Orca Crypto
Menu
Start Here
Learn
Chains
Exchanges
Markets
Tools
Safety
Glossary
More
Our tokens Book a session
Decentralized exchange

Aerodrome

The liquidity engine of Base, by a wide margin.

Loading live prices
By the Orca Crypto teamUpdated 2026-09-28How we check this5 min read
The short answer

The liquidity engine of Base, by a wide margin. Aerodrome lets token holders vote on where emissions go, which means projects bid for liquidity instead of paying for it directly.

What it is

Aerodrome lets token holders vote on where emissions go, which means projects bid for liquidity instead of paying for it directly.

PropertyDetail
Launched2023
Modelve(3,3) vote escrowed AMM
ChainsBase
CustodySelf custody. Your funds never leave your wallet until the swap executes
Account requiredNone. You connect a wallet

The AERO token

LiveCoinGecko
Price
$0.8196
+1.64% 24h
Market cap
$816.64M
24h volume
$92.27M
Rank
#86

Prices as of September 29, 2026, replaced by live figures as the page loads. Prices move constantly and are for orientation only.

A governance token is not the exchange, and holding one is not required to use the other.

Using it safely

  1. Reach it from a bookmark

    Type the address or use a saved bookmark. Fake front ends served through search ads are the single most common way wallets get drained.

  2. Check the network

    Your wallet and the site must be on the same chain, or your balance will appear to be zero.

  3. Verify the token contract

    For anything other than a household name, paste the contract address from an official source rather than picking from a search list.

  4. Set slippage tight

    0.1 to 0.5 percent on major pairs. If a token demands far more, that is information about the token.

  5. Approve the exact amount

    Avoid unlimited approvals where the interface lets you choose. Review old ones periodically.

  6. Read the transaction on an explorer

    Every time, at first. It builds the instinct that catches problems later.

What it costs

Two separate costs apply to every swap, and beginners often only notice one.

  • The pool fee, typically 0.01 to 1 percent depending on the pair and the tier. This goes to liquidity providers.
  • Network gas, which depends entirely on which chain you are on and has nothing to do with the DEX.

On Ethereum mainnet gas usually dominates. On Base or Solana it effectively disappears, and the pool fee is the whole cost.

Honest risk assessment

  • Smart contract risk. Even audited, heavily used contracts have been exploited before.
  • You are responsible for every approval you grant, and they persist until revoked.
  • There is no support, no reversal and no recovery for a mistake.
  • Prices come from pools, so thin liquidity means severe price impact on larger trades.
  • Anyone can list any token. A matching name and logo proves nothing.

Other places to make the same trade

Routing differs, fees differ, and the pool you get filled from differs. These cover the same ground.

Where to go next

Compared head to head

The question people actually ask is not "what is this" but "this one or that one". Each of these ends with a pick and the reasoning behind it.

First time on Aerodrome?

We can walk through it live, on a cheap network, so the first swap you do alone is actually your second.

Common questions

Why is Aerodrome so dominant on Base?
It uses a vote escrow model where token holders direct emissions to the pools they want deeper, which pulls liquidity in and keeps it. It is the main liquidity venue on the chain by a large margin.
What is a bribe in this context?
A payment from a project to voters to direct emissions toward its pool. It is an open, normal part of the model despite the name, and it is how projects buy liquidity depth.
Share this page

Was this page useful?