Uniswap is a completely different decentralized exchange protocol built on Ethereum. It uses a relatively new type of trading model called an automated liquidity protocol. This protocol was created by Hayden Adams in 2018 and was built on top of the Ethereum blockchain. Uniswap does not have an order book and allows users to trade without intermediaries, with a high degree of decentralization and censorship-resistance. It even allows users to list tokens on the exchange for free. Notable difference is that the traditional centralized exchanges are profit-driven and charge very high fees to list new coins, unlike Uniswap.
Uniswap runs on two smart contracts:
These are automatic computer programs that are designed to perform specific functions when certain conditions are met. In this instance, the factory smart contract is used to add new tokens to the platform and the exchange contract facilitates all token swaps, or “trades.”
The way Uniswap solves the liquidity problem of centralized exchanges is through an Automated liquidity protocol. This works by incentivizing people trading on the exchange to become liquidity providers.
Basic actions that are executed while using Uniswap are: