Uniswap 的模型是一個可能殺死 DeFi 的科學項目

DeFi 領導者的商業模式和類似的自動化做市商的商業模式的可持續性仍然存在嚴重問題

Uniswap is one of the largest and most influential decentralized exchanges (DEXs). It launched in November 2018 during Devcon 4, where founder Hayden Adams revealed the platform's V1. In under six months, Uniswap already had $10 million locked in its liquidity pools, securing the DEX with valuable seed funds as it expanded and upgraded its protocol.

Uniswap 是最大、最具影響力的去中心化交易所（DEX）之一。它於 2018 年 11 月 Devcon 4 期間推出，創始人 Hayden Adams 透露了該平台的 V1。在不到六個月的時間裡，Uniswap 的流動性池中已經鎖定了 1000 萬美元，在擴展和升級協議的過程中，為 DEX 提供了寶貴的種子資金。

However, serious questions remain about the sustainability of Uniswap's business model and those of similar automated market makers (AMMs). From a regular user's perspective, Uniswap and AMMs generally provide a convenient way to trade a wide variety of tokens. On the flip side, liquidity providers (LPs) typically fail to retain profits due to the misleadingly-named concept of impermanent loss.

然而，Uniswap 的商業模式以及類似的自動化做市商 (AMM) 的可持續性仍存在嚴重問題。從一般用戶的角度來看，Uniswap 和 AMM 通常提供了一種交易各種代幣的便捷方式。另一方面，由於無常損失概念的誤導性命名，流動性提供者（LP）通常無法保留利潤。

Even if advertised APRs (annual percentage rates) aren't misleading and are distributed to LPs, a study going as far back as 2021 revealed that more than half of Uniswap's LPs were losing money due to impermanent loss, which means they would have been better off just holding the tokens independently and not putting them to work at all. This is because the rate of impermanent loss, caused by volatile price fluctuations, is usually higher than the APRs rewarded to LPs.

即使廣告中的 APR（年度百分比率）沒有誤導性並且分發給 LP，一項早在 2021 年的研究就顯示 Uniswap 一半以上的 LP 由於無常損失而虧損，這意味著他們本來會更好只是獨立持有代幣，根本不讓它們發揮作用。這是因為價格波動造成的無常損失率通常高於獎勵給有限合夥人的年利率。

Things only got worse when Uniswap transitioned to a concentrated liquidity model, which aimed to improve capital efficiency by offering liquidity in specific price ranges chosen by the user. This removed the 50/50 balance in trades, benefiting traders but making it so that LPs are still actively losing money from taking the suboptimal side of every trade.

當 Uniswap 過渡到集中流動性模式時，情況只會變得更糟，該模式旨在透過在使用者選擇的特定價格範圍內提供流動性來提高資本效率。這消除了交易中的 50/50 平衡，使交易者受益，但也使得有限合夥人仍然因在每筆交易中採取次優策略而蒙受損失。

Let's take a look at the UNI token itself, which somehow does not generate revenue despite a valuation exceeding $6 billion. With no fee-share coming from LPs, the protocol itself earns nothing from its usage. Since UNI holders are unable to stake their tokens to earn rewards in the form of ETH, they gain no direct financial benefit from the value they drive to Ethereum.

讓我們來看看 UNI 代幣本身，儘管估值超過 60 億美元，但不知為何它並沒有產生收入。由於沒有來自有限合夥人的費用分成，該協議本身不會從其使用中獲得任何收益。由於 UNI 持有者無法抵押其代幣來賺取 ETH 形式的獎勵，因此他們無法從為以太坊帶來的價值中獲得直接的經濟利益。

The bottom line is that LPs are unable to get any profit because there is simply no profit to be made. And if LPs aren’t even profitable, it is unlikely there will ever be any profit to share.

最重要的是，有限合夥人無法獲得任何利潤，因為根本沒有利潤可賺。如果有限合夥人甚至沒有獲利，就不太可能有任何利潤可供分享。

So, this raises the question: How can a sector survive, let alone thrive if investors regularly lose money?

因此，這就提出了一個問題：如果投資者經常虧損，一個產業如何生存，更不用說繁榮？

We shouldn't underestimate how big of a problem profitability is for liquidity providers. DeFi cannot effectively function without them, and their role in strengthening crypto as a whole shouldn't be taken for granted. A sign that investors are waking up to this problem can be seen from lending protocols surpassing DEXs in total value locked (TVL).

我們不應該低估獲利能力對流動性提供者來說有多大的問題。沒有它們，DeFi 就無法有效運作，而且它們在增強整個加密貨幣方面的作用不應被視為理所當然。從貸款協議在鎖定總價值（TVL）方面超過去中心化交易所可以看出投資者正在意識到這個問題的跡象。

This should sound the alarm for all of DeFi. If LPs pull their funds en masse from DeFi protocols in favor of more traditionally stable asset classes, it would quickly send ripple effects across the entire crypto industry. So how can DEXs be improved to enable more traders and liquidity providers to thrive while simultaneously enhancing capital efficiency?

這應該會給所有 DeFi 敲響警鐘。如果 LP 將資金從 DeFi 協議中大量撤出，轉向更傳統的穩定資產類別，那麼它將很快在整個加密行業產生連鎖反應。那麼如何改善去中心化交易所，讓更多交易者和流動性提供者蓬勃發展，同時提高資本效率呢？

Crypto's overall idea is to reflect, but also replace, traditional finance through maximum decentralization. However, capital inefficiency within the DeFi sector doesn't allow that to happen, putting it at a clear disadvantage against centralized platforms

加密貨幣的整體概念是透過最大程度的去中心化來反映並取代傳統金融。然而，DeFi 領域的資本效率低下不允許這種情況發生，使其相對於中心化平台處於明顯的劣勢

In traditional finance, when one deposits money into a savings account, one can expect a reliable ROI from providing liquidity to the institution. But banks carry an implicit trust, whether through consumer protections or centuries of experience in managing assets and navigating volatile markets. DeFi platforms don’t have that same degree of investor confidence. Most DEXs, simply put, don’t have the experience to capture value from their liquidity successfully.

在傳統金融中，當人們將錢存入儲蓄帳戶時，可以透過向機構提供流動性來獲得可靠的投資回報。但無論是透過消費者保護或數百年管理資產和駕馭波動市場的經驗，銀行都擁有一種隱性的信任。 DeFi 平台沒有同樣程度的投資者信心。簡而言之，大多數去中心化交易所沒有成功從流動性中獲取價值的經驗。

The main problem with Uniswap and similar AMM models is that they never really learned how to profit from the liquidity they collect. Countering this requires DEXs to implement innovative incentivizing mechanisms and boost their transparency to encourage investor and trader participation.

Uniswap 和類似的 AMM 模型的主要問題是，它們從未真正學會如何從收集的流動性中獲利。應對這一問題需要去中心化交易所實施創新的激勵機制並提高透明度，以鼓勵投資者和交易者參與。

Enhancing transparency, tracking impermanent loss, and setting APRs accordingly is paramount to making liquidity providers feel secure and incentivized. Centralized exchanges such as Coinbase and Binance supplement their income by providing infrastructure services and earning interest from token custody. Perhaps, DEXs can evolve to the point where liquidity can be hypothecated to earn both chain security incentives and trade fees simultaneously.

提高透明度、追蹤無常損失並相應地設定年利率對於讓流動性提供者感到安全和受到激勵至關重要。 Coinbase 和 Binance 等中心化交易所透過提供基礎設施服務和從代幣託管中賺取利息來補充收入。也許，DEX 可以發展到可以假設流動性來同時賺取鏈安全誘因和交易費用的程度。

DeFi's novelty holds tremendous promise. By removing third-party intermediaries, DeFi enables investors to earn fees from the liquidity they provide to a certain protocol — a revolutionary concept that even 10 years ago would have been hard to wrap one's head around. However, capital inefficiencies and inexperience with the nature of markets call for new approaches to ensure that decentralized systems don't squander the momentum they’ve recently enjoyed. Addressing these challenges now can help bolster all DEXs leading to a stronger and more resilient DeFi.

DeFi 的新穎性蘊藏著巨大的前景。透過消除第三方中介機構，DeFi 使投資者能夠從他們向特定協議提供的流動性中賺取費用——這是一個革命性的概念，即使在 10 年前也很難理解。然而，資本效率低下和對市場性質缺乏經驗需要新的方法來確保去中心化系統不會浪費它們最近享有的勢頭。現在解決這些挑戰可以幫助支援所有 DEX，從而打造更強大、更具彈性的 DeFi。