Can UNI cash in on concerns about centralized exchanges? | Credit: Shutterstock
Key Takeaways
The Uniswap decentralized exchange (DEX) had some unexpected success in the summer of 2023.
After one of its main rivals, Curve DAO (CRV) suffered a hack which saw it lose more than $50 million worth of crypto, more traders bought Uniswap.
The news came after the latest upgrade to the platform’s code was released to the public in June, the DEX’s token, UNI, has seen its price go up.
But what is Uniswap (UNI)? How does Uniswap work? Let’s see what we can find out, and also take a look at some of the Uniswap Price Predictions that were being made as of August 1 2023.
In its technical documentation, or whitepaper, Uniswap describes itself as a “noncustodial automated market maker”. In other words, it is a decentralized exchange.
It goes on to say that it offers customers flexible fees, an easy way to check on price changes, and more efficient liquidity.
Uniswap was in a good position to capitalize once it was announced that Curve DAO had been hacked in late July 2023.
The system’s UNI token went up at a time when Curve DAO’s CRV fell, suggesting that crypto investors were moving their holdings to UNI.
That’s all very well, but what is Uniswap (UNI)? Let’s see what we can find out.
The crypto exchange is a crucial part of the blockchain. Crypto would have no value if there was nowhere to buy or sell it. However, traditional, centralized, exchanges, can suffer due to the way that a central authority decides which coins and tokens can be sold and exchanged.
Uniswap , which was founded in 2018 by former Siemens engineer Hayden Adams, is an example of a decentralized exchange (DEX). It allows people to list whichever cryptos they want for the price they want.
Uniswap, which is on the Ethereum (ETH) blockchain, is supported by its native cryptocurrency, known by the ticker handle of UNI.
Uniswap uses liquidity pools to supply people with cryptocurrencies and make sure the price is right.
They are supported by liquidity providers, whose job is to make sure they are deposited in equal amounts.
In other words, the platform is an automated market maker.
It has a permissionless design structure, which means that anyone can use it.
UNI is a governance token, which means that people who hold it can vote on changes to Uniswap.
Because Uniswap is based on Ethereum, it is a token, not a coin. You might see references to such things as a Uniswap coin price prediction, but these are wrong.
Let’s now take a look at some of the Uniswap price history . While past performance should never be taken as an indicator of future results, knowing what the token has done can help give us some very useful context when it comes to either making or interpreting a Uniswap price prediction.
When Uniswap first hit the open market it was worth about $6.50. It went down but then rose again, closing the year at $5.17.
Early 2021 was a boom time for crypto. Uniswap got in on the action, climbing to an all-time high of $44.97. The market fell and UNI dropped to, albeit inconsistently and it closed the year at $17.07, down 62% from its high but up 230% year on year.
In 2022, disaster struck, as the market suffered a string of crashes. UNI fell by about 80% by 18 June, when it traded at $3.31. There was some recovery, but the turmoil caused by the collapse of the FTX exchange meant it closed the year at $5.06. That represented an annual drop of a little over 70%.
So far, things have managed to get even worse for UNI in 2023. Although it went up to spend time above $7 in February, it slid back down again afterwards.
On June 10, in the wake of the news that Crypto.com had suspended its American institutional services, UNI traded at $3.75. After that, it recovered to $5.50 on June 26 before falling again to about $4.79 on June 28.
After that, it went on a pretty steady climb and, on August 1 2023, UNI was worth about $6.45.
At that time, there were 577.5 million UNI in circulation out of a total supply of one billion. This gave the token a market cap of about $3.7 billion making it the 22nd-largest crypto by that metric.
In June, the price of Uniswap wavered. Before the SEC announced it was suing Binance on June 5, UNI was worth $5.01. Over the course of the next five days, it lost 25%.
After that, though, it enjoyed something of a resurgence. It broke past pre-crash levels on June 25. Now, it is not only nearly 30% higher than June 5 but also 72% up from the post-crash low. Even more encouragingly, it is more than 25% up from the start of the year.
The price of Uniswap reached $6.68 at its highest point early on the morning of August 1. From there, we have seen decline by more than 6% to its current level of around $6.25.
It has been, broadly speaking, in an upturn since it reached its low on June 10.
Has the current downturn ruled out the possibility of more near-term growth, or can it recover to above $7 soon? Let’s find out.
The upward turn that may or may not have ended early on August 2 saw the price rise above the descending trend line which started in February 2022.
The moving average convergence/divergence (MACD) and Relative Strength Index (RSI) indicators both suggest that the recent price rise could have been the start of a bull cycle.
It is certainly possible that UNI can rise to around $7.60 at some point soon. However, if it goes up too quickly, then it is in danger of becoming overbought, which means it could drop just as suddenly. This is according to the RSI
Likewise, despite the recent downturn, the MACD is suggesting that there is still plenty of upward momentum for Uniswap.
If we go by the theory that price movements tend to happen in five waves, it looks like we might be at the bottom of the fourth wave.
If we look at the parallel trend lines in the above chart, we can see that the price is yet to reach the higher trendline. It is certainly possible that it will recover to do so.
On the other hand, if the price continues to drop to below the bottom trendline, then the good times will be over, at least for now.
Now, let’s look at some of the Uniswap price predictions that were being made on August 1 2023. It is important to remember that price forecasts, especially for something as potentially volatile as crypto, very often end up being wrong.
Also, keep in mind that many longer-term crypto price predictions are made using an algorithm, which means that they can change at a moment’s notice.
First, CoinCodex ’s short-term Uniswap price prediction was mixed, saying it could fall to $5.98 by August 6 and $7.10 by the end of the month. The site’s technical analysis was very bullish, with 21 indicators making encouraging signals compared to just seven making bearish ones.
In terms of other Uniswap price predictions for 2023, CaptainAltCoin said UNI would drop to $4.63 in October but recover to $5.32 by the end of the year. DigitalCoinPrice was more optimistic, saying it would shoot up to $13.73, while PricePrediction.net thought the token would reach $7.45 this year.
When it came to making a Uniswap price prediction for 2025, DigitalCoinPrice was the most optimistic, saying the token would trade at $21.65 that year. PricePrediction.net argued for it to reach $15.42. CaptainAltCoin was more cautious, saying the token would trade at $16.07 in two years time.
Moving on to a more long-term Uniswap price prediction for 2030, PricePrediction.net was the most upbeat, suggesting the token would reach $104.81. CaptainAltCoin had it at $40.18. DigitalCoinPrice was somewhere between the two, saying it would trade at $90.75 in the first year of the next decade.
With Curve DAO suffering a hack, Uniswap was in a perfect position to cash in. As a result, the price has continued its general upward trend, and is much healthier than it was a couple of months ago.
UNI also released the code for its latest update in June. The token’s price has gone up recently, showing that new developments can spark interest. We will have to see if it can build on that.
As ever with crypto, you will need to make sure you do your own research before deciding whether or not to invest in UNI.
No one can really tell right now. While the Uniswap crypto price predictions are largely positive, price predictions have a well-earned reputation for being wrong. Keep in mind, too, that prices can, and do, go down as well as up.
Before you decide whether or not to invest in Uniswap, you will have to do your own research, not only on UNI, but on other, related, coins and tokens such as SushiSwap (SUSHI). Either way, you will also need to make sure that you never invest more money than you can afford to lose.
On August 1 2023, there were 577.5 million UNI in circulation out of a total supply of one billion.
It could do but, if it does, it will not be for quite some time. PricePrediction.net says it could reach three figures in 2030, while DigitalCoinPrice said it would happen the following year. Keep in mind that UNI’s all-time high, which it reached at the start of May 2021, is less than half of that, coming in at $44.97.
The UNI token is used to give people the right to vote on changes to the Uniswap decentralized exchange. UNI can also be bought, sold and traded on exchanges.
Please note that the contents of this article are not financial or investing advice. The information provided in this article is the author’s opinion only and should not be considered as offering trading or investing recommendations. We do not make any warranties about the completeness, reliability and accuracy of this information. The cryptocurrency market suffers from high volatility and occasional arbitrary movements. Any investor, trader, or regular crypto users should research multiple viewpoints and be familiar with all local regulations before committing to an investment.