Aerodrome / Aero exchange profile

Aero is a pool-based token exchange combining Aerodrome and Velodrome. Liquidity pools supply swap assets, while sAERO holders allocate rewards across the supported networks. Legacy Aerodrome contracts remain relevant to existing holdings. A token swap, an LP position and a locked NFT are separate assets and instructions; connecting the same wallet does not make them one withdrawable account balance.[22][5]

The official upgrade hub confirms Aero launched on 22 October 2026 at 00:00 UTC, equivalent to 21 October at 20:00 EDT. The launch networks are Base, Ethereum, Robinhood Chain, Arc, OP Mainnet, Ink and Arbitrum. Legacy Aerodrome and Velodrome emissions stopped at launch; their interfaces remain available for upgrades and management of existing positions.[2][1]

Aero Lite launched on Arc in September 2026 with a simpler Slipstream swap and liquidity interface. It preceded the full Aero rollout and remains part of the platform’s operating history; its announcement is not the current specification for every Aero feature.[3][1]

The router’s swap and liquidity functions are wallet-signed transactions. Its documented interface does not establish conventional GTC, IOC or FOK order-book instructions. An already executed swap cannot be cancelled by closing a browser, and a minimum-output setting does not prevent every market, token or network risk.[10]

Custom modules can override defaults. The core specification permits pool fees up to 3%; that ceiling does not establish a live rate. Routes can incur several pool charges, network gas and separately disclosed integration fees. A single maker/taker or retail VIP tariff does not describe every pool.[6]

Legacy Slipstream distinguished staked positions earning AERO from unstaked positions earning swap fees. Its specification set a default 10% deduction from unstaked fee income, adjustable up to 50%; that percentage concerns fees earned, not LP principal. Legacy emissions ended at the Aero launch. These retained implementation settings do not describe the new Aero LP tariff.[9][2]

An illustrative US$2,000 swap through one pool actually charging 0.05% incurs US$1 before impact, gas and other route charges. A default setting does not establish the live quote.[9]

Aero Slipstream uses dynamic swap fees and, where enabled, MEV-related charges. Registered desks, routers and aggregators can receive fee discounts through an on-chain registry. The applicable pool configuration and route determine the charge; registration does not imply a universal retail discount.[12]

The 19 October economy article sets out the launch tariff below. These percentages apply to fees earned by unstaked LPs, not to deposited principal or the trader’s full swap value. Staked LPs instead earn AERO rewards; gauge caps link the reward budget to pool revenue. Under the minimum-stake mechanism, an early exit forfeits unminted rewards. Pool configuration and subsequent published changes can alter the launch terms.[13]

Liquidity instructions move assets between the authorised wallet and selected pool. Zaps can convert one input into a two-token position, with some routes limited to ordinary ERC-20 tokens. Fee-on-transfer assets are not compatible with every zap. These crypto routes do not establish a direct bank deposit or fiat cash-out account.[6]

Removing core liquidity has its own minimum-amount and deadline checks. The router burns the authorised LP amount and releases the corresponding assets if the instruction succeeds. This is an on-chain pool redemption, not a central exchange withdrawal request with a fixed processing desk, cash currency or universal withdrawal minimum.[10]

Existing Slipstream permits an owner to unstake, including when the gauge is disabled. That action does not automatically sell the returned tokens.[9]

Metaswaps now combines routing, token conversion and cross-network transport through Aero’s Metalane infrastructure. Both swap legs use Aero pools. The published quote includes route costs, while destination gas is deducted from the output; no separate destination-gas balance is required. Slippage tolerance constrains the final trade, and message delivery and destination liquidity remain execution dependencies.[26]

The legacy core permission model assigns specific powers: a pauser can stop swaps in the relevant pools while liquidity additions and removals remain possible; fee managers can change authorised fee settings; an emergency council can disable or revive gauges and manage eligible managed-NFT states. The specification describes powers rather than proving that every current role has been renounced. Contract-level pause authority must therefore be considered separately from the front end’s availability.[7]

Current Aero controls include an emergency council that can deactivate or reactivate gauges and pause migration contracts. Separate roles govern chain status, messaging adapters and fee settings. These powers affect contract operation independently of front-end access.[23]

Aero’s security disclosures map the reviews below to contract scopes and version hashes. An audit does not guarantee protection against loss. Current vulnerability reports go exclusively through the linked Sherlock bounty programme.[23][24]

Wallet connection alone cannot establish permission to buy a security token or a right to redeem it with the issuer. The pool announcement differentiates secondary trading from the authorised-participant mint/redemption channel; those channels should not be presented as identical retail withdrawal options.[17]

The inspected operating documentation does not establish a recurring central-account inactivity charge. A lock can nonetheless expire and stop earning, while an Auto-Max or managed lock can keep funds committed. These are position conditions rather than a published dormancy debit.[20]

The inspected support routes do not publish a trading-desk SLA or authority to reverse a signed swap. The Foundation’s terms allow the interface to change or discontinue and state that it cannot recover a wallet’s private keys.[14]

The terms specify individual JAMS arbitration and a US$100 liability cap, subject to applicable law. A corporate disclosure telephone number should not be substituted for the contract’s dispute procedure or represented as telephone dealing.[14]

A direct contract route remains separate from website access, but it still depends on the correct chain, deployed contract and wallet authority. Current Aero roles can change chain status, gauges and configuration; the legacy core additionally documents swap-pause powers. An alternate interface does not bypass those contract controls.[7][23]

The June 2025 legacy AERO whitepaper identifies Aerodrome Foundation as a Cayman Islands exempted limited guarantee foundation company, registration 402557, incorporated on 18 August 2023. Its MiCA disclosure is a token whitepaper, explicitly not authority approval or a crypto-service licence. It states that the token is not covered by the specified EU investor-compensation or deposit-guarantee schemes. An exchange named as a separate token-listing venue does not confer its permissions on Aerodrome.[15]

The Foundation describes its role as nonprofit ecosystem support, development funding, research and grants. This role is distinct from treating it as the counterparty to every pool swap or the custodian of each user’s tokens. The disclosed ecosystem and development relationships do not establish an entity-specific regulated brokerage service.[16]

The new Aero project combines the Aerodrome and Velodrome model with development by Dromos Labs. It changes the economic system to Predictive Allocation and sAERO rather than merely changing the visible ticker. The older weekly voting model, locked positions and new continuous allocations therefore need to be identified by their applicable generation.[4]

The Foundation’s Momentum Fund description concerns ecosystem growth and alignment, including support for development and participants. Such treasury and funding activity is not an audited proof of customer reserves and does not promise that a swap loss or liquidity shortfall will be reimbursed.[16]

DefiLlama’s Aerodrome page showed approximately US$15.665 billion of trailing thirty-day spot turnover on 20 October 2026, including US$15.61 billion on Base and US$55.6 million on Arc. The twenty-four-hour figure was US$407.86 million. Its grouped products include legacy Aerodrome, Slipstream, Ignition and Aero Lite, so the 20 October snapshot predates the full Aero launch and is not a current post-merger volume measure. The page’s active-address count is wallet activity, not a verified registered-person count.[18]

Operator

Aerodrome Foundation — Aero interface provider

Exchange model

Decentralised

Service scope

Aero spot pools and cross-network routing after the 22 October 2026 launch; legacy Aerodrome interfaces remain for position management and upgrades.

Client types

Not established

Pricing publication

Public pricing

Pricing scope

Current Aero pool-specific fees and LP charges differ from retained legacy Slipstream settings.

Funding scope

Crypto swaps and liquidity withdrawals; legacy positions require the specified upgrade actions.

Custody and asset handling

Wallet-signed pools, managed positions and time locks with documented emergency and fee roles.

Client eligibility

Territory, sanctions and securities restrictions apply; issuer rules can add KYC.

Support

Official technical-support bot; current Aero vulnerability reports go through Sherlock. Legacy issuer contacts have a separate corporate scope.

Authorisation and registration scope

Legacy AERO MiCA whitepaper establishes disclosure, not service authorisation or deposit protection.

Exchange metadata checked 29 Oct 2026Source 14Source 15Source 5Source 1Source 7Source 2Source 19Source 9Source 23Source 24

Legacy Relay accepted veNFTs and automated voting, claiming and compounding. Its guide extended a deposit’s lock to the maximum and restricted early withdrawal. The upgrade hub now directs holders to recover Relay positions before conversion; old weekly voting and reward instructions must not be applied to current Aero allocations.[20][2]

Current Autopilot manages pooled sAERO allocations using a selected algorithm. Its Compounder reinvests revenue; its Converter holds the chosen output token for withdrawal. Activation and deactivation can wait up to the 47-hour allocation cycle. A configurable performance fee may apply on withdrawal. The original zero-balance NFT acts as the withdrawal key, and the returned sAERO inherits the pool’s duration and staking state. Leaving automation does not itself unlock the underlying stake.[25]

The new Slipstream feature description includes PoolTape, an on-chain record of pool fees, volume, swaps, liquidity and MEV-related activity. These market records are not a promise of a complete personal cost-basis calculation, transaction export or jurisdiction-specific tax report. Wallet and pool histories require their own reconciliation.[12]

The current Metaswaps documentation describes a TypeScript SDK for routing, quotes and transaction construction. Market-data access and transaction construction remain separate from wallet authority to execute a swap. The documentation’s typical finalization time is a couple of minutes after source confirmation; it is not a guaranteed settlement deadline or a promise of reversal of an already completed swap.[26]

New-Aero staking rewards are conditional on useful active liquidity and the applicable minimum-stake period. An advertised annualised rate, a future reward allocation and an already claimed liquid AERO balance are different states. The economy article’s reward cap is a design target tied to revenue, not a guaranteed cash return or a withdrawable signup bonus.[13]