Uniswap Targets DeFi Pain Points With 2 New Smart Contracts

The smart contracts will unify the token approval process and allow users to execute multiple trades in one transaction

article-image

Source: Shutterstock

share

Decentralized exchange Uniswap revealed that it has released two new smart contracts — Permit2 and Universal Router — that aim to improve user experience in DeFi.

Traditional token approval methods required users to “send an approval transaction for each new application they wanted to use,” Uniswap Labs wrote in a blog post

“This led to a confusing UX where users might be asked to send multiple transactions before using an application, wasting gas and time,” it added.

Permit2 unifies the token approval process — and provides permit-based approvals and transfers for ERC-20 tokens across different smart contracts.

Universal Router, combines token and NFT trades into a swap router. It allows users to execute multiple trades on Uniswap V2 and V3, then buy NFTs from different marketplaces in one transaction.

Lawrence Forman, a blockchain security engineer, first came up with the infrastructure behind the latest smart contracts.

“So cool to see this launch! This is based on my permit-everywhere hack at ETHNewYork,” he tweeted.

Loading Tweet..

Improving speed and safety in DeFi

Ethereum’s token approvals were a bane to decentralized finance users throughout DeFi summer, especially during periods of high gas prices, when it could cost several dollars just to approve a token transfer — before even getting to the transaction itself.

Previously, to approve maximum allowances, applications often had access to a user’s entire wallet balance — leaving them vulnerable to exploitation and unsafe practices. 

Third-party tools such as Revoke.cash were created just to address these sorts of limitations in the original token approval process, but they represented a stop-gap measure.

The latest smart contract is designed to minimize those risks, reduce gas prices and simplify transaction flows. 

Scott Lewis, the co-founder of Defi Pulse tweeted, “The fun part about free public infrastructure is that everyone can use everyone else’s and then it’s just all winning forever, together.”

Loading Tweet..

 The Universal Router, meanwhile, is integrated with Permit2, which means that approvals and router flow should be more streamlined. 

This latest announcement comes soon after Uniswap Labs closed a $165 million Series B, bringing the protocol’s total valuation to $1.66 billion.

It seems that the protocol is actively looking at ways to improve critical infrastructure within the ecosystem as it continues to expand its product offerings and become financially sustainable.


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

Tags

Upcoming Events

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

Industry City | Brooklyn, NY

TUES - THURS, JUNE 24 - 26, 2025

Permissionless IV serves as the definitive gathering for crypto’s technical founders, developers, and builders to come together and create the future.If you’re ready to shape the future of crypto, Permissionless IV is where it happens.

Brooklyn, NY

SUN - MON, JUN. 22 - 23, 2025

Blockworks and Cracked Labs are teaming up for the third installment of the Permissionless Hackathon, happening June 22–23, 2025 in Brooklyn, NY. This is a 36-hour IRL builder sprint where developers, designers, and creatives ship real projects solving real problems across […]

recent research

Research Report Templates.png

Research

Ethena Labs is leaping from its flagship synthetic dollar, USDe, to a full product suite—USDtb, iUSDe, and the Arbitrum-based Converge Chain—designed to marry crypto-native yields with TradFi-grade compliance. Our analysis shows how expanding into CME, ETF options, and tokenized Treasuries could lift protocol revenue from sub-$500 million in a bear case to several billion dollars if favorable regulation and institutional adoption align.

article-image

Bitcoin is still rising, 11 years after the documentary film The Rise and Rise of Bitcoin

article-image

Arch Labs CEO told Blockworks that the team plans to launch a native token, but declined to give details

article-image

CEO Mike Silagadze tells Blockworks that the US is “open for business” and why its DeFi bank offering is the first of many

article-image

Doing one thing well and leaving everything else out is often what disruptive technologies do best

article-image

Why an analyst is kicking off COIN coverage with “buy” rating