Ekubo: The AMM Endgame

The ultimate Liquidity Layer for all things trading: how Ekubo rewrites the AMM playbook

In the dynamic and ever-evolving landscape of cryptocurrency, trading has consistently remained the cornerstone use case. This fundamental truth has not wavered. Even with the exciting emergence of novel concepts such as Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks (DePIN), Artificial Intelligence (AI), or blockchain-based gaming, the vast majority of transaction volume, generated fees, and overall user engagement is anchored to a single, pivotal activity: trading. However, a significant disconnect has become apparent. While trading continues to reign supreme, a large number of Decentralized Exchanges (DEXs) have failed to progress beyond rudimentary, short-term incentive programs, architecturally inefficient designs, and native tokens that struggle to capture any meaningful portion of the value they help create. Ekubo is engineered to change this paradigm, and we are proud to witness this significant evolutionary step taking place on Starknet, leveraging its own set of groundbreaking technologies.

Ekubo represents a protocol that has been entirely bootstrapped from its inception, a conscious decision made to avoid venture capital funding, reject any developmental shortcuts, and maintain an unwavering, laser-like focus on building a superior product. The result is a best-in-class infrastructure layer meticulously designed for the world of trading, which masterfully combines several critical elements:

• Ultra-concentrated liquidity: A mechanism that allows for unprecedented capital efficiency.
• Gas-optimized execution: An architecture that significantly reduces transaction costs for all users and liquidity providers.
• Permissionless extensions: A framework that empowers developers to build novel applications directly on top of the core protocol.
• Tokenomics that actually align with usage: A model where the protocol’s success directly translates into value for token holders.

The true power of this model becomes evident when considering its composability. Because Ekubo’s extensions are entirely permissionless and integrate directly with Ekubo’s foundational liquidity layer—which is arguably the most efficient and sophisticated in the entire DeFi space—developers can launch virtually any DeFi primitive directly on top of it. This approach offers a superior user and developer experience, much tighter and more seamless integration, and vastly improved capital efficiency compared to launching a new standalone protocol or building on a legacy Automated Market Maker (AMM). Whether the application is a Dollar-Cost Averaging (DCA) tool, a token launchpad, a suite of advanced order types, or even complex derivatives like options, if it has a trading component, it can be constructed more effectively and efficiently on Ekubo.

Furthermore, Ekubo is not an exclusive platform for developers. Far from it. Whether you identify as a high-frequency trader, a diligent gem hunter seeking the next big opportunity, a liquidity provider (LP) aiming to maximize returns, or a protocol developer looking for a robust foundation, Ekubo provides DeFi’s most powerful and versatile liquidity engine. It is a system built with perfectly aligned incentives that benefit all stakeholders across the ecosystem.

This analysis will focus on explaining the how and why behind Ekubo’s innovative approach, structured into the following comprehensive sections:

I. Context

II. Market Problems

III. Solution

IV. Ekubo features

V. Team and backers

VI. Metrics

VII. How Ekubo Can Grow

VIII. Tokenomics

IX. Risks

Before we start, note that this article reflects only the views of its author, Lyskey. It is provided for informational purposes only and explains how Ekubo differentiates itself from other DEXs. It is not meant to provide any financial advice. Please always stay SAFU, verify information, and DYOR.

I. Context

This article is already quite detailed, and it’s likely that most readers do not require a comprehensive refresher on the inner workings of Automated Market Makers. To avoid bloating this document with fundamental concepts, I have moved the key ideas into a separate, standalone companion piece. There, I cover the essential concepts that underpin Ekubo’s design, including:

• What’s an AMM
• Slippage
• Impermanent Loss
• Differences between AMM v1, v2, v3, v4

If you would like a high-level refresher to better grasp why Ekubo represents such a significant leap forward, please start here.

For all the seasoned AMM OGs out there, let’s jump straight into the specifics of Ekubo.

II. The Market Problems

The architecture of AMMs has certainly matured, with the v4 model being specifically engineered to address two fundamental challenges of its predecessors: first, to dramatically reduce costs for both liquidity providers and traders by implementing a more efficient architectural framework, and second, to facilitate permissionless extensions (or “hooks”), which allows any conceivable DeFi primitive to be constructed directly upon a simple AMM pool’s foundation.

However, technological advancement by itself is not the primary impediment to progress; the structure of the market itself presents a more formidable obstacle. The decentralized exchange landscape is heavily dominated by Uniswap and its most successful fork, PancakeSwap. Together, they consistently command the lion’s share of trading volume and Total Value Locked (TVL) on EVM-compatible chains, frequently accounting for 65-70% of the total market on any given day. While new and innovative projects occasionally emerge (such as the recently launched Fluid), none have yet managed to make a significant and lasting dent in the powerful network effects that Uniswap has cultivated over the years. When a single project is the primary driver of most significant upgrades and optimizations in the AMM space, the overall pace of innovation becomes constrained, tethered to the timeline and priorities of a single entity’s roadmap. This has led to a discernible lack of groundbreaking innovation originating from projects outside the immediate Uniswap ecosystem.

Compounding this issue, the token design implemented by most leading AMMs remains fundamentally weak and fails to capture the value generated by the protocol. The prime example is UNI, the native token of Uniswap. It offers no direct revenue sharing mechanism for token holders, no buyback-and-burn program, and no other direct means of value accrual. As is the case with the majority of AMM tokens, its utility is largely confined to governance, and it captures little to no economic value from the protocol’s operations. The fees generated from billions of dollars in daily volume primarily flow to liquidity providers and the protocol’s treasury, which is controlled by the team and major investors, not to the token holders who are meant to be the owners of the protocol.

Furthermore, the initial fundraising and token distribution for many of these projects were heavily weighted towards insiders. Venture capital firms were able to invest at extremely deep discounts during early seed and strategic rounds, long before the tokens were made available to the public on the open market. The potential for massive upside, therefore, was largely extracted before retail participants even had a chance to get involved.

The consequence of this market structure and token design is stark and undeniable: there is a progressively widening chasm between the growth and success of the protocol and the financial returns experienced by its token holders.

Ekubo is strategically and technologically positioned to rectify these deep-seated issues.

III. Solution

Ekubo is a Decentralized Exchange (DEX) that has been meticulously constructed with a product-first philosophy. This approach is anchored by two fundamental, non-negotiable core principles: first, to deliver the most efficient, robust, and powerful liquidity layer for all trading activities, and second, to ensure that the growth and success of the protocol are inextricably and directly linked to the value accrued by its token holders.

Its underlying architecture is engineered for peak performance at every conceivable level. Ekubo relentlessly pushes the boundaries of capital efficiency to their absolute limits by implementing a combination of ultra-concentrated liquidity, a highly efficient singleton contract system, and an innovative till-based execution model. This synergistic combination works to minimize redundant token transfers and drastically reduce gas consumption for every on-chain action.

Beyond its sophisticated architecture, Ekubo provides an unparalleled degree of flexibility for both liquidity providers and developers. Through the implementation of permissionless extensions, any individual or team can build and seamlessly integrate custom on-chain strategies. They can even go so far as to create entirely new types of pool logic, all natively within the core protocol’s framework.

This forward-thinking design effectively transforms Ekubo from a simple DEX into a foundational liquidity infrastructure layer for the entirety of the DeFi ecosystem. It is a protocol that is at once highly efficient, endlessly composable, and remarkably adaptable. Every single optimization, from the smallest code refinement to the largest architectural decision, is made with a clear and unwavering set of objectives: to improve trade execution for traders, to maximize the yield earned by LPs, and to guarantee that the economic value created at the protocol level directly accrues to the individuals who hold the EKUBO token.

This ambitious vision is not merely theoretical; it is backed by profound technical credibility. Moody, the visionary founder of Ekubo, was a core contributor to the development of Uniswap v3. He personally wrote a significant portion of its codebase and went on to lead the architectural design of the subsequent Uniswap v4. Ekubo is built upon this formidable foundation, taking the lessons learned and meticulously refining and extending the design in the areas where it matters most.

By masterfully combining four foundational pillars, Ekubo establishes a new, higher benchmark for the design and functionality of Automated Market Makers (AMM):

1. Gas-efficient architecture, achieved through the synergistic use of the singleton architecture and the till pattern.
2. Capital efficiency, realized via extremely precise tick sizing and the power of liquidity concentration.
3. Modularity, enabled by a system of fully permissionless extensions that foster limitless innovation.
4. Token alignment, created through a novel system of protocol-level withdrawal fees and DAO-managed buybacks that directly benefit holders.

Let us now proceed to explore each of these critical components in comprehensive detail.

IV. Ekubo main features

Singleton

Ekubo leverages a sophisticated singleton contract architecture, a design that marks a significant departure from traditional AMM implementations. In the conventional model, which encompasses virtually every AMM developed before the conceptualization of Uniswap v4, each individual liquidity pool is deployed as its own distinct and separate smart contract. This approach inevitably leads to the same core logic being duplicated over and over again for every new pool, with the associated gas costs for deployment being paid each and every time.

Ekubo takes a fundamentally different and more intelligent approach.

With its singleton architecture, all liquidity pools, regardless of the token pair, exist and are managed within a single, unified smart contract. There is just one core contract for all pools. This is the origin of the term “singleton,” and it is this design choice that unlocks several major benefits:

• There is absolutely no need to redeploy the shared, common logic every time a new trading pair is introduced.
• The creation of new pools becomes approximately 99% cheaper in terms of gas consumption, removing a significant barrier to entry for new markets.
• Swaps executed on the platform cost roughly 50% less in gas. This saving is achieved through a reduction in storage writes and, crucially, the elimination of token transfers between pools that would otherwise reside in separate contracts.
• The unified structure makes the process of aggregating liquidity and routing trades internally far simpler and more efficient.
• Traders receive better pricing for multi-hop swaps (e.g., trading from Token A to Token C via Token B), as the intermediate steps in the trade route are executed at a much lower cost.

In essence, the singleton design makes Ekubo a cheaper, faster, and more efficient platform for all its participants: liquidity providers, traders, and developers alike.

Till Pattern

Ekubo implements the “till pattern,” a highly efficient mechanism where the token transfers associated with a user’s actions are not processed incrementally with each individual interaction. Instead, they are intelligently batched together and finalized in a single, consolidated step only at the very end of the entire transaction.

To make this concept more intuitive, think of it like a trip to the supermarket. You walk through the aisles, grabbing all the items you need—which in the DeFi world could be executing swaps, performing LP actions like adding or removing liquidity, and updating your position ranges. You collect everything in your cart and only pay once at the checkout counter. Ekubo’s till pattern functions in precisely the same way. Rather than triggering an on-chain token transfer after each discrete operation, it defers all token movements until the full sequence of actions is complete. It then calculates the net result and handles all the necessary transfers in a single, highly optimized step. This approach dramatically reduces the operational overhead, eliminates unnecessary and redundant back-and-forth token movements, and significantly lowers the overall gas costs for the user.

For aggregators, which route a substantial portion of DeFi volume, the benefits of the till pattern are even more pronounced. They can leave tokens within the Ekubo contract throughout a complex series of actions, batching everything into a single, seamless flow, and only executing the final net settlement when absolutely necessary. This greatly improves composability and drives down execution costs, allowing them to offer better prices to their users.

The till pattern unlocks several key advantages:

• Fewer token transfers directly translate into cheaper and faster transactions for everyone.
• The flow of capital becomes more efficient, creating a positive feedback loop that benefits LPs, traders, and aggregators.
• Perhaps most significantly from a technical standpoint, Ekubo supports safe reentrancy. While most DeFi protocols strictly restrict nested calls to prevent security vulnerabilities and reentrancy exploits, Ekubo’s design enables secure, modular interactions—even across different contracts—without introducing new attack vectors.

As a direct result of this, smart contracts can interact with Ekubo with a level of freedom and flexibility that is impossible on other platforms. They are not constrained by rigid, linear transaction logic. Aggregators can chain multiple swaps or liquidity management operations together in a single atomic call, while the actual token transfers are only executed when strictly necessary. This minimizes gas usage and provides a much smoother, more intuitive user experience.

In short, the philosophy is simple: batch all the logic first, and settle the net result later. That is the power of the till pattern. By combining this innovative pattern with the singleton contract design, Ekubo achieves an ultra-high level of gas efficiency, making it arguably the AMM that delivers the absolute best execution price, net of all gas fees.

Ultra-Concentrated Liquidity

Ekubo takes the revolutionary concept of concentrated liquidity and pushes it to its logical and practical extreme. While many contemporary AMMs offer basic implementations of this feature, Ekubo introduces a level of hyper-precision that is unmatched in the industry. It achieves this through the use of tick sizes that are as small as 1/100th of a basis point, which translates to a price increment of just 0.000001. This allows for an order of magnitude more precision than other leading protocols and creates a pricing accuracy that begins to rival that of sophisticated centralized exchanges.

In this specific context, a “tick” refers to the smallest possible price increment within which liquidity can be placed in a concentrated liquidity AMM like Ekubo. The ability to utilize such incredibly small tick sizes allows for several profound benefits:

• Extremely precise liquidity placement: Liquidity providers can deploy their capital with surgical accuracy, targeting the exact price ranges where they anticipate the most trading activity.
• Tighter spreads: This precision allows for narrower bid-ask spreads, which in turn enables more competitive and efficient markets for traders.
• Lower slippage: With liquidity being more densely packed around the current market price, traders experience significantly lower slippage, resulting in better execution for their trades.

The collective result of these advantages is a virtuous cycle: LPs earn more fees on their capital, traders receive better prices on their swaps, and the entire system operates with a much higher degree of overall efficiency.

To put this into practical terms, a deposit of just $1,000 of liquidity on Ekubo can be configured to perform as effectively as a $100,000 deposit on a less advanced AMM. This remarkable efficiency is a direct consequence of the extreme concentration made possible by Ekubo’s fine-grained tick architecture. 

It is also worth noting that Ekubo still provides full support for users who prefer a more passive approach to liquidity provision. Anyone can easily create v2-style, full-range positions. Unlike concentrated liquidity, which typically demands active management and monitoring of positions, these full-range positions offer a simpler, “set-and-forget” exposure to the market, with no ongoing need to monitor price movements. To achieve this, LPs simply need to set the minimum range of their position to 0 and the maximum range to a very, very high number, effectively replicating the behavior of a traditional v2 pool.

Extension

One of Ekubo’s most powerful and forward-thinking features is its extension system. This system empowers third-party developers to build entirely new and customized types of pools in a completely permissionless fashion. These extensions are not separate, siloed applications; instead, they embed their custom logic directly into the core of the Ekubo protocol. This ensures they remain fully compatible and composable with Ekubo’s broader ecosystem, which includes aggregators, user interfaces, and various other developer tools.

Virtually every aspect of a transaction’s lifecycle can be customized: before, during, and after the core swap logic is executed. Developers can attach their extensions to specific pool interactions, modify the behavior of a pool at key execution points, or capture valuable on-chain data for analysis or other purposes. This unlocks an unprecedented level of flexibility and innovation. For example, pricing curves can be completely redefined to suit specific asset types, custom oracles can be seamlessly integrated, external protocols can be called upon during a swap, and even privacy-preserving logic can be embedded—all within Ekubo’s unified and efficient architecture.

The outcome is a radically improved user experience for both LPs and traders. It also grants liquidity providers much greater control over how their capital behaves, with pools that can be configured to match precise, sophisticated strategies or to adapt dynamically to evolving market conditions.

Three extensions that are already live within the Ekubo ecosystem perfectly showcase this remarkable flexibility:

• Limit Orders: Users can place ultra-precise on-chain limit orders. Thanks to Ekubo’s highly concentrated liquidity, these orders can often achieve a level of accuracy that surpasses what is possible on most centralized exchanges. These trades are executed entirely on-chain, with no hidden fees, no off-chain components, and no reliance on third-party dependencies. With this extension, you can set up buy or sell orders far in advance, at a very specific target price, and allow the system to handle the execution automatically and trustlessly.
• TWAMM Orders (DCA): Ideal for executing large trades or for the gradual accumulation or distribution of an asset, Time-Weighted Average Market Maker (TWAMM) extensions allow users to execute long-duration orders entirely on-chain. This mechanism is designed to minimize slippage and overall market impact by breaking a large order down into infinitely small virtual orders over a specified period. This enables a native Dollar-Cost Averaging (DCA) experience directly on the protocol. You can gradually buy or sell an asset over hours or days without needing to manually manage dozens of individual orders. This TWAMM extension can be a particularly powerful tool for DAOs managing their treasuries.
• Oracle Extensions: These extensions provide a reliable and manipulation-resistant time-weighted average price (TWAP) by averaging a pool’s price over a user-defined period. This design, which relies on historical on-chain data, makes it significantly harder for malicious actors to exploit prices when compared to relying on external or spot-price oracles.

It is crucial to note that all of these extensions are integrated into Ekubo without creating any form of liquidity fragmentation. Users can easily access and utilize them, and when a trader executes a swap through the Ekubo user interface, the smart router automatically takes all available pools—including standard, limit order, and TWAMM pools—into account to deliver the absolute best possible price execution.

The potential for innovation with Extensions is practically infinite; the only real bottleneck is the creativity of our collective monkey brains. To give you a better sense of what is possible, here are a few examples of existing, successful protocols that developers could rebuild directly on top of Ekubo, likely with better optimization, a superior user experience, and greater gas efficiency than their current standalone versions:

• A launchpad for new tokens, similar in spirit to Pump.fun. In fact, Moody is already actively developing such a product, with a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) expected to be ready for testing by mid-to-late summer.

 

• A protocol for lending against concentrated liquidity positions, similar to Fluid.
• A perpetuals trading application, perhaps inspired by a model like Infinity Pools.
• For the privacy maximalists, Ekubo has already open-sourced the first iteration of privacy pools on Starknet. You can think of this as being similar to Tornado Cash, but with the added feature of being able to prove that your funds came from a specific, approved set of deposits without revealing which particular one was yours. You can find more details here.

In summary, with Ekubo extensions, complex functionalities that once required the development of an entirely separate protocol can now be built directly on top of Ekubo. This allows new applications to instantly benefit from its deep, shared liquidity, its sophisticated routing infrastructure, its existing UI integrations, and the network effects of its broader ecosystem.

Withdrawal Fees

Ekubo introduces a subtle yet profoundly powerful mechanism designed to more effectively balance the incentives involved in liquidity provision: withdrawal fees. The principle is simple, yet its impact on the practical dynamics of the market is significant.

When you remove your liquidity from any given pool on Ekubo, you are required to pay a fee that is equal to that pool’s designated swap fee. This fee is taken directly from your principal deposit, not from the fees you have earned. This is a protocol-level fee, meaning it is enforced on every single withdrawal without exception, and it fundamentally changes the economic calculus and behavior of liquidity providers.

In simple terms, if you create or deposit into a pool that has a 0.3% swap fee and you later decide to remove $10,000 worth of liquidity, you will be charged 0.3% on that withdrawal, which amounts to $30. This mechanism is specifically designed to discourage short-term, opportunistic strategies. It particularly targets Just-In-Time (JIT) liquidity providers—those who deposit a large amount of liquidity right before a large trade is executed in order to collect the fees, and then instantly pull their liquidity out. This practice is exploitative of passive LPs who remain exposed to price risk over the long term.

Here’s a practical example of how this plays out:

1. A mercenary LP identifies a large pending swap and drops $1,000,000 into a pool with a 0.05% fee, hoping to snipe a juicy arbitrage opportunity.
2. They successfully capture the fees from the large trade and attempt to withdraw their liquidity within the very same block.
3. Ekubo’s protocol automatically charges them a 0.05% withdrawal fee on their $1,000,000 principal, which amounts to $500. This is precisely the same amount they would have hoped to earn in swap fees.
4. The net result for the JIT provider is zero profit, minus the gas costs they incurred.

This behavior is not explicitly banned by the protocol, but it is rendered economically unviable.

On the other hand, long-term liquidity providers are not punished by this system. The longer you keep your liquidity in a pool, the more you will earn in swap fees, which makes the one-time withdrawal cost progressively more negligible over time. Furthermore, thanks to Ekubo’s ultra-efficient tick architecture, you need less capital to earn the same amount of fees, which makes the withdrawal fee even smaller in relative terms.

It is also important to note that zero-fee pools are entirely possible and supported. This is what notably enables the creation of extensions like TWAMM (DCA) or on-chain limit orders without introducing any additional fees for the users of those features.

So, what does this innovative model unlock?

• Fewer liquidity mercenaries: Behavior that is detrimental to the health of the pool and harms passive LPs becomes significantly less profitable.
• Better fee alignment: It creates a simple, fair trade-off. If you, as a pool creator, want to charge traders a 0.3% swap fee, you should be prepared to pay that same 0.3% fee to exit the pool.
• Incentives that favor deep, sticky liquidity: The design naturally rewards liquidity that is concentrated, low-fee, and passive, which in turn improves trade execution for all traders.
• Protocol revenue with a purpose: The withdrawal fees are accumulated in the core protocol contract and can be withdrawn by the core owner. In Ekubo’s case, the owner is the governance DAO. Currently, 100% of these collected fees are directed towards a program that buys back EKUBO tokens from the open market.

As of June 2025, over $1 million in fees has already been collected and utilized to support the token’s economy through a systematic buyback of the token. You can find all the transparent metrics related to the token buyback program here. This is real, sustainable value being captured at the protocol level without resorting to adding interface fees, implementing token taxes, or creating artificial inflation.

Ekubo’s DAO

I know, the term “DAO” often elicits skepticism, and for good reason. But in the case of Ekubo, the DAO is not just a meme or a facade for centralized control. It is a genuine, functioning, and empowered governing body.

While Ekubo, Inc., the development company led by Moody, is the primary contributor and driving force behind the protocol’s development (more on the team in Part V), it is crucial to understand that the company does not control the protocol. Ownership and control of Ekubo’s core smart contracts have been fully and irrevocably transferred to the Ekubo DAO. The DAO now governs the protocol entirely on-chain, making all key decisions through a transparent voting process.

Ekubo, Inc. is simply one of many participants within the DAO. Despite holding a significant amount of voting power, it does not possess unilateral control. In fact, here’s an example of a proposal that did not pass, even though Ekubo, Inc. voted in favor.

To date, over 40% of all governance proposals have come directly from the community, not from Ekubo, Inc. This demonstrates a healthy and active level of engagement. Any individual who has at least 100,000 EKUBO tokens delegated to their address has the power to submit a formal proposal for consideration. Governance on Ekubo is open, active, and genuinely community-driven.

This robust structure gives EKUBO token holders full and ultimate responsibility over the protocol’s future direction. This includes several critical functions:

• Managing and upgrading the core smart contracts: This adds a vital layer of security and community oversight. Most contracts on Starknet are upgradeable (whereas on Ethereum, most of the core and extension contracts developed by Ekubo Inc are immutable), but any upgrade can only be executed after a successful DAO vote.
• Controlling the Ekubo treasury: This includes managing the funds that are dedicated to growing the social layer and fostering the broader ecosystem.
• Deciding how the buyback funds are allocated: The community has the power to decide whether these funds are used for token burns, liquidity incentives, staking rewards, or other value-generating programs.

If you hold EKUBO tokens and wish to take an active role in shaping the protocol’s future, I strongly encourage you to join the DAO discussions on Discord, particularly in the dedicated #town-hall channel.

At this point in the analysis, you might be asking a very reasonable question: this all sounds impressive on paper, but in an already saturated AMM landscape that is heavily dominated by Uniswap, what truly gives Ekubo a sustainable competitive edge?

The answer is elegantly simple: Ekubo doesn’t just replicate the architecture of Uniswap v4; it actively pushes it further and improves upon it. It aggressively optimizes every single layer of the technology stack and introduces new, powerful, native features to deliver an AMM that is demonstrably faster, leaner, and more flexible.

Here is a breakdown of how Ekubo outperforms other AMMs in practice:

1. Unmatched gas efficiency: Ekubo’s smart contracts have been rigorously and continuously optimized, making the protocol 20–30% cheaper to use than other leading AMMs across all primary functions, including swaps, LPing, and pool creation. Don’t just trust this claim, verify it for yourself: run identical operations on Ekubo and another AMM like Uniswap, and compare the gas usage. The results speak for themselves.
2. Hyper-precise liquidity deployment: As previously detailed, Ekubo utilizes tick sizes that are 100 times smaller than those found in Uniswap v3/v4. This enables LPs to concentrate their liquidity with surgical precision. The direct result of this is tighter spreads, which means better prices for traders, and significantly higher fee efficiency for LPs, even when they deploy smaller amounts of capital.
3. Feature-rich by default: Functionalities that are often an external plugin, a separate protocol, or a complex, layered solution elsewhere are native and seamlessly integrated into Ekubo. On-chain limit orders, TWAMM (DCA) functionality, and robust Oracle pools are all fully composable, operate entirely on-chain, and are deeply integrated into Ekubo’s core logic from day one.
4. Designed for Aggregators: Ekubo’s extreme efficiency directly benefits aggregators, which is where the majority of real, organic trading volume flows in DeFi. By offering the best net execution price, Ekubo naturally attracts more volume from these aggregators, creating a powerful growth loop. More volume leads to higher fees for LPs, which attracts more TVL. More TVL leads to deeper liquidity and even better execution, which in turn attracts even more volume from aggregators. This also means more revenue for the Ekubo protocol itself.

 

             5. Relentless shipping: The core development team continues to ship new features and improvements at an aggressive and impressive pace. They were one of the first DeFi protocols to deploy 1-click swap + LP on Ethereum. They are constantly making low-level improvements and gas optimizations to the core contracts. They also created and open-sourced the first iteration of Privacy Pools on Starknet, demonstrating a commitment to innovation beyond just their core product.

              6. A Token that actually captures value: Most AMM tokens are effectively deadweight. They offer no revenue share, no burn mechanism, no buybacks. Ekubo completely flips this script:

• • It had a fair launch with no Venture Capitals (VCs), meaning the full float of tokens was available from day one.
  • 100% of the protocol’s withdrawal fees go directly to the DAO.
  • The DAO then uses these fees to systematically buy back EKUBO tokens on the open market. This creates a direct, powerful, and transparent alignment between the usage of the protocol and the value accrued by its token holders. We will delve deeper into this in the Tokenomics section (IX).

V. Team and backers

With its governance now transitioned to a Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO), Ekubo has officially moved beyond the control of any single entity. This marks a pivotal moment in its evolution towards becoming a truly decentralized piece of financial infrastructure. But to understand where it’s going, it’s essential to look at its origins. Who was the architect behind this powerful protocol? Who continues to drive its development forward? And how is the DAO structure shaping its future?

The builder behind the protocol

The initial creation and ongoing maintenance of the Ekubo protocol are the work of Ekubo, Inc. This corporation is spearheaded by its founder, Moody Salem, a well-regarded veteran of the Ethereum space and one of the most significant contributors to the development of modern Automated Market Maker (AMM) infrastructure. His track record is a testament to his expertise and deep understanding of decentralized exchange mechanics.

Moody’s journey is deeply intertwined with the history of Uniswap, the leading DEX on Ethereum. As the fifth employee and Chief Engineer at Uniswap Labs from April 2020 to May 2022, he was instrumental in shaping the user experience and core functionality that millions of users rely on today. He was responsible for writing a significant portion of the early Uniswap web interface, creating the foundational token-lists system, and building the very first routing algorithm for swaps between the v2 and v3 protocols. He also personally committed approximately 50% of the v3 smart-contract codebase. Furthermore, he led the architectural design for Uniswap v4. Even after starting Ekubo, he continued to serve as a technical advisor to Uniswap through 2023. His ability to execute is equally impressive; in less than three months, he single-handedly coded the entire foundation of the Ekubo protocol and deployed it to the Starknet Mainnet.

This reputation for producing clean, elegant, and highly secure code is not just an internal metric; it is widely recognized and echoed by his peers and other industry OGs. For example, you can see a strong public vote of confidence in Harikrishna’s endorsement. Beyond its founder, Ekubo, Inc. operates with a deliberately lean and engineering-centric philosophy. The team is small, focused, and remains the primary contributor to the protocol’s development. For those interested in the specifics of its operational framework, a detailed overview of the company’s mandate, its operating budget, and a public pledge not to sell its tokens can be found within this official DAO grant document.

Transition toward a multi-team ecosystem

The long-term vision for Ekubo extends far beyond a single development team. The goal is to foster a vibrant and decentralized ecosystem. This model envisions a slim, highly specialized core team at the center, responsible for the most critical aspects of the protocol, surrounded by an ever-expanding ring of independent ecosystem contributors. This structure promotes resilience, innovation, and community ownership.

The first concrete steps in this direction involve opening up key operational areas like marketing and business development to the broader community. This process is already underway, with several community groups formally expressing their interest in taking ownership of these crucial functions, aiming to expand Ekubo’s reach and integration across the crypto landscape.

The philosophy is clear: maintain a tight, expert group for core protocol maintenance to ensure stability and security, while simultaneously pushing for greater autonomy and permissionless contribution at the edges of the ecosystem. This allows the protocol to scale its operations and community engagement far more effectively than a traditional, centralized company ever could.

When it comes to financial backers, the term doesn’t quite fit Ekubo’s journey. The protocol has not followed the typical venture capital funding route. Instead, its most significant financial endorsement came in the form of the largest Catalyst grant ever awarded by the Starknet Foundation. Ekubo received 6 million STRK tokens, a figure that dwarfs the 3 million STRK given to the next-largest recipient. This grant represents a massive vote of confidence from the Starknet Foundation.

In another significant move, Moody Salem proposed a strategic partnership directly to the Uniswap community. The proposal involved a $12 million investment, in the form of 3 million UNI tokens, from the Uniswap treasury into Ekubo, which would have placed a $60 million valuation on the protocol. The Uniswap community approved it. However, in a surprising turn, the Ekubo team ultimately decided not to proceed with the deal, choosing to forge its own path. 

To be indirectly backed by the Starknet Foundation and to have a strategic investment approved by the Uniswap community speaks themself about the perceived quality and potential of the protocol. Probably nothing.

VI. Metrics

1. On Starknet

When Ekubo first launched on Starknet, it entered a competitive field populated by several established AMMs. However, just twelve months later, the landscape has been completely redrawn. Ekubo now commands a staggering 60% of the total AMM Total Value Locked (TVL) on Starknet. Even more impressively, it captures the vast majority of all trading volume on the network, whether that volume is executed directly on its interface or routed through popular DEX aggregators like AVNU and Fibrous.

The result has been a near-total consolidation of the market, a comprehensive outmaneuvering of all competitors. This dominance is particularly noteworthy given that its main rivals, mySwap and JediSwap, are both based on the v3 AMM model, and another competitor, SithSwap, is specifically optimized for stablecoin pools (like USDC/USDT and wETH/ETH), which are typically high-volume pairs.

The secret to this success lies in Ekubo’s extreme optimization. The protocol is so efficient in its design that the majority of swaps routed by aggregators on Starknet are funneled through Ekubo’s liquidity pools, and this was already true when its TVL was still small. The superior execution prices offered by Ekubo made it the logical choice for any aggregator seeking the best possible deal for its users.

Back in September 2023, I wrote: “As the only UniV4-style AMM on Starknet, it is likely that Ekubo will attract TVL from other AMMs in the coming weeks.” This is precisely what happened, as liquidity providers migrated their capital from less efficient platforms to Ekubo in search of higher returns and better performance.

2. On EVM

While its EVM expansion is still in its early phase, and currently limited to Ethereum, Ekubo is already showing very promising signs. As of August 13th, the number of new Ekubo users keeps climbing, while volume has seen exponential growth in recent weeks.

What makes this performance truly remarkable is the context of its TVL. With only around $20 million in TVL, Ekubo had already positioned itself among the top 3 DEXs on Ethereum by daily trading volume. The most telling metric, however, is its Volume-to-TVL ratio. Among all the top DEXs on Ethereum, Ekubo has by far the highest ratio.

(Screenshot from May 24th; unfortunately, DeFiLlama has since removed the Volume/TVL ratio comparison, but the numbers look even better now for Ekubo, with a ratio above 30 on some days)

This ratio (30) means that every $1 of TVL on Ekubo generates $30 in trading volume per day 🤯. This level of capital efficiency is unparalleled and serves as the clearest possible indicator of the protocol’s superior design and its ability to offer extremely competitive pricing for traders.

3. Globally

The combination of its dominance on Starknet and its burgeoning success on Ethereum has led to impressive overall financial performance. Since its launch, Ekubo has already generated over $1M in revenue. And that’s just on Starknet. With its EVM expansion now happening, I expect that number to grow rapidly:

In summary, the data paints a clear and compelling picture. Ekubo has established itself as the undisputed liquidity monopoly on its home chain of Starknet, while simultaneously proving itself to be the single most capital-efficient DEX on the highly competitive Ethereum mainnet.

VII. How Ekubo Can Grow

This analysis demonstrates that Ekubo can be viewed as the market’s most advanced and efficient liquidity infrastructure. Given that trading is crypto’s primary and most enduring use case, and that all trading activity fundamentally depends on the availability of deep and efficient liquidity, Ekubo is perfectly positioned for rapid and substantial scaling. Several key factors are poised to accelerate its growth trajectory in the coming months and years.

1. Starknet Growth

This is a foundational element of Ekubo’s growth strategy. As detailed in the metrics section, Ekubo has achieved such a dominant position on Starknet, in terms of both TVL and capital efficiency, that it is now set to passively capture the upside from the entire network’s growth. 

In terms of liquidity, Ekubo is the foundation, accounting for over 60% of all AMM liquidity on the network. In terms of volume, its extreme optimization and unmatched capital efficiency mean that it offers the best execution for traders. Consequently, the vast majority of volume from DEX aggregators on Starknet is routed through Ekubo’s pools. AVNU, the leading DEX aggregator, which powers most of the trading UX across Starknet, is deeply integrated into the ecosystem, and a major part of its liquidity power comes from Ekubo. See graphic below showing how AVNU is the invisible engine behind most trading flows on Starknet.

So as Starknet grows, and I truly believe it has now found its PMF and is entering a phase of rapid adoption, Ekubo will continue to benefit passively. Here are some signs of the Starknet revival: After nearly a year of low activity, users are coming back onchain.

Starknet is now a top 5 Rollup by TVL, and one of the most active, consistently handling between 3 and 10 TPS daily.

A Starknet-powered app is ranking ahead of Airbnb, Uber, Strava, and Booking. And this resurgence is only just beginning; several major catalysts are lined up:

• Lombard launch – the leading BTC LST coming to Starknet
• Extended – a major perp DEX launching on Starknet L2, offering the same features as Hyperliquid/Paradex
• Rosettanet – EVM wallet compatibility
• Two major interoperability protocols integrating Starknet in Q3/Q4 2025
• Bitcoin staking
• BTCfi campaign launch by the Starknet Foundation

All of this activity will flow through Starknet’s DeFi stack, and as the dominant liquidity layer, Ekubo will passively capture the upside.

2. Expansion into the EVM Ecosystem (and also CairoVM!)

Ekubo has already established strong metrics on Ethereum L1, and that launch is only phase one. Because the codebase is now EVM-compatible, the protocol can be deployed to any major EVM chains with minimal effort; Base, Arbitrum, BSC, HyperEVM (Hyperliquid), Sonic, Monad, and more. In fact, some teams are already courting Ekubo for a launch; Sonic’s core developer Andre Cronje publicly invited the project to do that on Sonic 😉. Bottom line: Ekubo can scale its market share horizontally across chains whenever the DAO decides the timing is right.

On Starknet, Ekubo is written in Cairo; the rise of Cairo-native chains built on the Starknet Stack widens the runway further. Paradex (perp DEX), Agent Forge (AI marketplace), Eara (RWA infrastructure) and StarkPay (payments chain) are already building Cairo-based chains. As that ecosystem expands, Ekubo’s Cairo code can be redeployed to multiple L2s just as easily as its Solidity version moves within the EVM world.

3. Deep Liquidity & Efficiency: A Builder Magnet

Thanks to its superiority over other AMMs in terms of gas and liquidity efficiency, Ekubo is set to continuously attract more TVL. And as it does, a flywheel effect kicks in.

 

Ekubo is already shaping up to be the best trading liquidity infrastructure, and thanks to extensions, anyone can build on top to create advanced DeFi use cases, tapping into its deep liquidity and unmatched efficiency. A few examples of what can be built using Ekubo’s extension framework:

• AMM x Money Market hybrid → Fluid like use case
• Max leverage, no liquidation → Infinity Pools like use case
• A better version of Pumpfun (currently in the works, led by Moody)

On Ekubo itself already available:

• DCA (TWAMM)
• Limit orders
• Oracle pools
• Private pool initiative on Starknet (not production ready)

My view: If Ekubo continues to attract liquidity across EVM chains, it will establish itself as the go-to AMM infrastructure for advanced DeFi; the foundation where developers build any use case that demands deep, capital-efficient liquidity. And the beauty of it? All these apps will be natively integrated into Ekubo and composable by design.

4. BTCFI Growth

While fully trustless BTC DeFi isn’t here yet, BTCFI is already growing. One of the main use cases is on-chain BTC trading and liquidity providing. Crucially, Ekubo is:

• The most efficient AMMs out there
• The best infra layer for traders and LPs

So it’s perfectly placed to benefit from the BTCFI narrative. Even more bullish? The chain where Ekubo dominates (Starknet) is actively working to become Bitcoin’s execution layer, making it the most compelling infrastructure to bring BTC at scale.

One example: Lombard, the leading BTC LST, is coming to Starknet, and Ekubo will be the go-to place to provide liquidity and trade it.

5. DEX Growth vs. CEX

As CEX dominance declines in favor of DEXs, Ekubo is naturally set to benefit from this onchain trader migration.

TL;DR

Ekubo is perfectly positioned to benefit, both passively and actively:

• Ride Starknet’s accelerating growth.
• Expand rapidly across EVM (and Cairo) chains.
• Leverage extensions to draw builders and TVL.
• Capture the emerging BTCFi wave.
• Benefit from the long-term shift of volume from CEXs to DEXs.

By deploying across multiple chains, Ekubo diversifies risk while massively scaling its potential. And perhaps the most powerful aspect of Ekubo’s positioning: once it has accumulated enough TVL, it no longer needs to acquire users directly, most of the volume flows passively through aggregators. All it needs is a minimum amount of liquidity on each new chain, aggregator integration… and the passive flywheel takes over.

VIII. Tokenomics

Not long ago, my research led me to an insightful article published by Binance Research titled, Sustainable Tokenomics: Questions Every Founder Should Think About. This piece thoughtfully outlines the principles that contribute to a robust and enduring token economy. The timing of this article was particularly relevant, as it emerged during a period of significant market correction and scrutiny. The industry was witnessing the dramatic downfall of numerous projects that had launched with excessively high valuations but very small initial circulating supplies. This model frequently created a situation where VCs and sophisticated market makers could secure massive profits, often to the detriment of everyday retail participants who would buy into the hype at inflated prices.

What was genuinely striking to me upon reading the Binance article was the realization that every single best-practice criterion they recommended for building sustainable tokenomics had not only been considered but had already been meticulously implemented and even optimized by the Ekubo protocol. This was accomplished well in advance of the widespread industry backlash against exploitative token models and long before Binance published their analysis. It was a clear indication that Ekubo’s design philosophy was fundamentally sound and ahead of its time.

To construct a token economy that is not only healthy but also poised for long-term success, it is proposed that there are four primary design objectives that must be addressed. These pillars form the foundation of a fair and functional system that aligns the incentives of all participants, from the core team to the newest community member. These objectives are:

• A Fair Distribution Of The Token Supply
• Sustainable and Predictable Supply Emissions
• The Creation of Distinct and Intrinsic Demand For The Token
• The Fostering of an Active and Genuinely Decentralized Governance Structure

Beyond these core token-centric principles, there are several other critical considerations that, while not strictly part of the tokenomic model itself, can profoundly influence a token’s performance and the overall health of the protocol. These include:

• The initial Valuation at the time of the token’s launch
• Complete Transparency regarding team token vesting schedules and any potential sales

Let’s now proceed to examine each of these crucial points in greater detail, exploring how Ekubo’s approach stands as a benchmark for excellence in each category.

1. Fair Distribution

From its very inception, Ekubo demonstrated an unwavering commitment to a fair and equitable distribution of its native token, EKUBO. The protocol made the deliberate decision to directly allocate the vast majority of the total supply, precisely 66.66%, to its community members. This was not a monolithic giveaway but a carefully structured two-pronged approach designed to reward early supporters and foster a broad, decentralized base of token holders.

The first part of this community allocation involved an airdrop of 33.33% of the total supply. This portion was distributed to the early users of the protocol, the pioneers who provided liquidity and generated trading volume in the platform’s nascent stages. This served as a retroactive reward for their faith and participation, ensuring that those who helped build the foundation of Ekubo were given a significant stake in its future governance and success.

The second part of the community distribution, another 33.33%, was sold to the public through a series of Dollar-Cost Averaging (DCA) orders directly on the open market on Starknet. This public sale was conducted over an extended period of two months, running from May 24, 2024, to July 23, 2024. This method was strategically chosen for several reasons. Firstly, it allowed the protocol to bootstrap its own treasury in a transparent and decentralized manner, accumulating valuable assets like ETH and USDC without relying on private funding from VCs. Secondly, the extended duration gave everyone in the broader community, regardless of their connections or capital size, an equal opportunity to acquire the token at an early stage and at what was a very low initial valuation.

The remaining 33.33% of the total token supply was allocated to the core team and the project’s primary contributor, Ekubo Inc. However, this allocation came with a powerful and public commitment from the team. They have formally pledged not to sell any of these tokens for as long as they are actively building and employed by the Ekubo DAO. This is a profound statement of long-term alignment. As they stated:

We also commit to never selling any of the allocated 33.3% of EKUBO tokens from the company treasury for as long as the company exists. This means the company will always be incentive aligned with the success of the protocol. Source

Currently, Ekubo Inc. is under contract with the DAO to continue its development work until at least July 28, 2026. Their grant proposal further solidifies this long-term view:

We are requesting a grant of ~$1.5M to sustain the company in this role for at least the next 2 years without additional funding. This should be the only grant Ekubo, Inc. ever requests from the DAO: in the future, the company should be sustained by revenue from the one-third of total EKUBO tokens it holds. Source

Given these public commitments and contractual agreements, it is reasonable to assume that this substantial 33.33% block of the token supply will remain static and off the market until at least the middle of 2026, and quite possibly for a much longer period. This removes a significant source of potential sell pressure that plagues many other projects with large, ambiguously-vested team allocations.

2. Sustainable Supply Emissions

The topic of supply emissions and inflation is often one of the most complex and contentious aspects of tokenomics, frequently involving intricate vesting schedules, unlock cliffs, and continuous rewards that dilute the value for existing holders. Ekubo’s approach to this challenge is a masterclass in simplicity and sustainability. In fact, it is even more straightforward than its distribution model.

The simple truth is this: all 100% of the EKUBO tokens are already in circulation. There is zero inflation. There is no vesting schedule. There are no future unlocks. This means that the total supply of the token is fixed and will never increase. This is a stark contrast to the vast majority of DeFi protocols, which often rely on inflationary token rewards to incentivize liquidity or other desired behaviors. While those incentives can be effective in the short term, they invariably create persistent sell pressure as recipients cash out their rewards, and they dilute the ownership stake of every long-term holder.

By having the entire supply circulating from the outset, Ekubo has completely eliminated this risk of future inflation. This leads to a very rare and desirable characteristic in the crypto space: the Market Cap (MC) of the token is equal to its Fully Diluted Valuation (FDV). For investors, this provides a level of clarity and certainty that is incredibly valuable. 

3. Distinct Demand For The Token – Product is integral to long-term token performance

A token’s long-term success is intrinsically linked to the existence of genuine, sustainable demand. Without a clear reason for people to acquire and hold the token beyond pure speculation, its value is built on a fragile foundation. Ekubo has engineered a system where EKUBO token holders are directly and continuously aligned with the growth and success of the protocol itself through a powerful revenue-sharing and buyback mechanism.

The protocol generates revenue through withdrawal fees: every time a LP decides to remove their assets from a liquidity pool, they are charged a fee. This fee is calculated as being equal to the pool’s designated trading fee tier (e.g., 0.05%, 0.30%, etc.) and is applied to the entirety of the LP’s position upon withdrawal.

Crucially, these collected fees are not simply held in the treasury. Instead, they are programmatically used to buy back EKUBO tokens from the open market. This process creates a constant and reliable source of buying pressure for the token. As of August 13th, 2025, the Ekubo DAO has already bought back over 197,000 EKUBO tokens, which represents approximately 2% of the total supply. This entire process is completely transparent and can be tracked in real-time by anyone on the blockchain right here.

Since its launch, Ekubo has generated over $1 million in protocol revenue, a figure that continues to climb steadily.

This revenue generation and subsequent buyback create a powerful, self-reinforcing growth loop. As discussed in Section VII (How Ekubo Can Grow), the protocol’s future growth can be driven by five key factors. The core of this flywheel is that as Ekubo attracts more Total Value Locked (TVL), it can offer better trade execution with lower slippage. This superior execution naturally leads to more trading volume being routed through Ekubo by aggregators and individual traders. More volume translates directly into higher Annual Percentage Rates (APRs) for liquidity providers. These attractive returns, in turn, incentivize even more TVL to flow into the protocol. And, of course, more TVL means more withdrawal fees, which fuels more revenue and larger token buybacks, completing the virtuous cycle. This is especially potent in concentrated liquidity pools, where LPs must be more active in managing their positions, leading to more frequent withdrawals and deposits, thus generating more fee revenue.

A natural question arises: what will the protocol do with this growing stash of bought-back tokens? The beautiful answer is that the decision rests entirely with the DAO, meaning the EKUBO token holders themselves have complete control. Several compelling options have been discussed within the community. One possibility is to permanently burn the repurchased tokens, which would make the token deflationary and increase the scarcity and value of the remaining supply. Another option is to distribute these tokens as rewards to stakers, particularly those who are active participants in governance, thereby incentivizing informed and engaged decision-making. A third strategy could be to use the tokens to fund targeted incentives for attracting additional TVL to new or strategic liquidity pools.

Again, the power lies with the community; EKUBO holders are the ultimate arbiters of the protocol’s destiny. At present, a portion of the bought-back supply is being strategically deployed to incentivize liquidity for Ekubo’s expansion onto the Ethereum L1 mainnet, a decision made by the DAO. You can learn more about this specific initiative here.

Furthermore, the utility and demand for the EKUBO token extend beyond the protocol’s internal mechanics. It is being actively integrated across the wider Starknet DeFi ecosystem, further cementing its role as a core asset. For instance, it can be used as a collateral or lending asset on Vesu and Nostra Finance. It is also accepted as a means to mint the $CASH stablecoin on the Opus protocol. In a particularly useful integration, you can even pay for network gas fees with EKUBO when using the Ready wallet, allowing users to interact with the entire Starknet ecosystem using their EKUBO holdings.

4. Active and Decentralized Governance

A truly decentralized protocol requires more than just a governance token; it needs an active, engaged, and empowered community to guide its evolution. In this regard, the Ekubo DAO stands out as one of the most active and effective decentralized autonomous organizations in the entire DeFi landscape.

Since its governance was activated, there has been a remarkable level of activity, with a total of 31 formal proposals being put to a vote. Of these, 29 have been successfully passed, while 2 were rejected by the community, demonstrating that the voting process is not a mere formality but a genuine check on power. What is particularly encouraging is the source of these proposals. While 17 originated from the core development team at Ekubo Inc., a significant 14 proposals were entirely community-driven, showcasing a healthy and proactive governance culture where ideas can emerge from anywhere within the ecosystem.

Some of the notable proposals that have shaped the protocol’s trajectory include:

• The initial Governance activation (June 2024), which officially handed control over to the token holders.
• A Governance airdrop designed to reward the first delegates and voters, encouraging early participation.
• The Ekubo Inc. contract/grant request (July 2024), which transparently outlined the team’s funding for the next two years.
• A Core contract upgrade to enhance the protocol’s functionality and security.
• The implementation of a Permissionless revenue buyback system, allowing anyone to trigger the buyback mechanism.
• A proposal for Diversified buyback assets, giving the DAO more flexibility in its treasury management.
• The establishment of a formal Audit + bug bounty program to bolster security.
• A decision on STRK staking participation to optimize the DAO’s treasury yield.
• The allocation of an EVM audit budget for the protocol’s expansion to Ethereum.
• The creation of Ethereum deployment incentives to bootstrap liquidity on the new chain.

This high level of engagement is supported by a significant portion of the token supply being actively used for governance. Currently, over 60% of the total EKUBO supply is staked, making it eligible to participate in voting on these critical proposals. This high staking ratio is a strong indicator of a committed and long-term-oriented holder base. Note that there is no lockup period; holders can unstake at any time.

5. Low valuation on launch

One of the most significant barriers for retail investors in the crypto space is gaining access to promising projects at a fair and early valuation. Too often, private rounds and insider deals allow VCs and well-connected individuals to buy in at a fraction of the price that the public is later offered. Ekubo completely upended this inequitable model.

The two-month DCA sale, which ran from May 24 to July 23, 2024, was the primary mechanism for the public to acquire EKUBO tokens. This sale, conducted directly on the open market using Ekubo’s own DCA extension, allowed the DAO to sell a portion of its tokens daily. This methodical and transparent process resulted in the community being able to purchase EKUBO at an approximate Fully Diluted Valuation (FDV) of just ~$10 million. The average price paid by participants during this extensive sale period was around $1.02 per token. This provided a rare opportunity for ordinary retail buyers to invest in a top-tier protocol at an entry point that is typically reserved for the earliest private investors in other projects.

Through this innovative and fair DCA sale, Ekubo successfully built its initial treasury by selling a total of 3,269,920 tokens. In exchange, the DAO treasury acquired a diversified portfolio of assets, including:

• 343.675 ETH
• 1,204,770 USDC
• 1,549,920 STRK

This approach not only ensured a fair launch but also provided the DAO with a robust and well-capitalized treasury from day one, ready to fund future development and strategic initiatives without being beholden to any external venture capitalists.

6. Transparency over team vestings / sales

In the often opaque world of cryptocurrency projects, a lack of clarity around team tokens, vesting schedules, and potential insider selling can create significant uncertainty and risk for investors. Ekubo addresses this concern with radical transparency and a simple, verifiable structure.

As previously mentioned, the entire token supply is live and available on-chain. This means there are no complex vesting schedules to track, no looming “unlock” dates that could flood the market with new supply, and absolutely no VCs waiting in the wings to dump their discounted bags on the public. The 33.33% share of the supply allocated to the team is held in a transparent wallet, and its contents can be tracked by anyone at any time here.

Furthermore, the revenue buyback contract is fully on-chain and is triggerable by anyone in the community. This means the process of converting protocol revenue into token buybacks is not dependent on the core team; it is a decentralized function that the community can initiate, ensuring that the mechanism works as intended, always. This commitment to on-chain transparency and verifiable actions builds a deep level of trust and removes the risks associated with hidden supply and opaque team dealings.

TL;DR of the 6 key points on tokenomics

• Fair distribution: A clear and equitable split, with 66.6% of the supply going to the community (divided between a 33.3% airdrop and a 33.3% open market sale) and the remaining 33.3% allocated to the team under a public no-sell commitment.
• Zero emissions: The entire 100% of the token supply is already circulating on the market. This means the Market Cap equals the Fully Diluted Valuation (MC = FDV), completely eliminating the risk of future token inflation.
• Clear token demand: Protocol revenue is used to fund continuous token buybacks, creating constant buying pressure (with nearly 200,000 EKUBO tokens already repurchased). EKUBO also has growing utility across the DeFi ecosystem as collateral, for lending, in governance, and as a token to pay for gas fees on Starknet.
• Active, decentralised governance: The DAO is highly active, with 31 proposals voted on, half of which were initiated by the community. A high staking rate of 62% of the total $EKUBO supply ensures robust and decentralized decision-making.
• Low launch valuation: The extended two-month DCA sale allowed the public to acquire EKUBO at an approximate $10M FDV, giving retail participants the same kind of early entry point that insiders typically receive in private rounds of other projects.
• Full onchain transparency: There are no hidden VC unlocks or future emission schedules. Every aspect of the token supply and the team’s holdings is publicly traceable and verifiable on the blockchain.

 

Ekubo is actively breaking the cycle of what can be called “retail extractor” tokenomics, a model that has unfortunately become common in the industry. Instead of launching with a low float and high valuation designed to benefit early insiders, Ekubo launched from day one with a low-valuation, high-float model (with 100% of the supply floating from the start). The team made the conscious decision not to take any shortcuts by accepting private funding, choosing instead to fully bootstrap the protocol through its public sale. This commitment to fairness means that any large entity wishing to acquire a significant position, such as the notable crypto investment firm Delphi Digital, had to do so by purchasing tokens directly from the open market, on the same terms as any other participant.

When compared to its top competitors in the AMM space by trading volume, the difference in tokenomic philosophy is stark and immediately apparent.

It is clear that Ekubo’s tokenomics are designed with a focus on fairness, transparency, and long-term sustainability.

IX. Risks

Despite Ekubo’s exceptionally strong fundamentals and well-designed model, it is essential for any thorough analysis to consider the potential risks that remain. No project is without its challenges, and being aware of them is crucial for making informed decisions.

The first, and arguably the most significant risk at this stage of the project’s life, is that its development and strategic direction are still heavily driven by a very small team, and in particular, by its founder, Moody. At present, a vast amount of the protocol’s innovation, vision, and execution continues to revolve around him. While the long-term vision is for the DAO to become progressively more autonomous and take on a greater share of the responsibility for the protocol’s future, this is a gradual process. It will likely take a considerable amount of time before Moody’s role can be sufficiently decentralized to the point where his potential departure would have a limited impact on the protocol’s continued success. To be perfectly clear, there has been no public indication whatsoever that he has any plans to step away; this is simply an acknowledgment of the key-person risk that is common in many early-stage projects.

The second notable risk is related to a strategic decision made by Moody and Ekubo Inc. to not actively focus on marketing and business development activities. Their rationale is to remain laser-focused on building the best possible core infrastructure. The areas that Ekubo Inc. will not be focusing on, and where the protocol would greatly benefit from broader ecosystem participation, include:

• The development of advanced tooling for liquidity providers.
• Sophisticated analytics platforms, similar to revert.finance.
• Automated liquidity management solutions, such as those offered by Arrakis.
• Advanced delegate and governance tooling, like Tally or Agora.
• In-depth market analytics, for example, through community-built Dune dashboards.
• Integrations with aggregators and advanced routing systems (e.g., AVNU).
• General marketing and community management efforts.
• Organizing hackathons, sponsoring events, and representing the protocol at conferences.
• Creating user guides and comprehensive documentation.
• Managing the protocol’s official X (formerly Twitter) account.
• Pursuing listings on centralized exchanges and other token integrations.source

While the logic behind this focused approach is sound from a product development perspective, it does come with tangible short-term consequences. Ekubo currently has relatively low visibility on platforms like X and within the broader narrative surrounding decentralized exchanges. This lack of marketing presence could slow down its adoption rate. Encouragingly, discussions are already happening within the community about how to address this, with various members and groups beginning to formulate proposals to take on these important roles.

Another risk to consider is that Ekubo’s revenue model is entirely dependent on its capacity to attract and retain a large base of liquidity. While it may very well be the most capital-efficient and gas-efficient AMM in existence, efficiency alone is not always sufficient to guarantee the inflow of fresh TVL from across the crypto ecosystem. To date, the protocol’s growth in attracting TVL from the Ethereum mainnet has been steady but relatively slow, highlighting the challenge of competing for liquidity in a crowded marketplace.

Lastly, as is the case with any protocol in the DeFi space, the risk of smart contract vulnerabilities is ever-present. A bug or exploit could lead to a significant loss of funds. That being said, Ekubo takes extensive measures to mitigate this risk. The protocol adheres to a robust audit process, ensuring that every major product release or significant contract upgrade undergoes a formal review by reputable security firms. You can find a comprehensive list of all of Ekubo’s audits here. Furthermore, the risk is significantly tempered by Moody’s unmatched credibility and expertise in the field. As a key architect who wrote a substantial portion of Uniswap v3 and led the design for the highly anticipated Uniswap v4, his track record is impeccable. He is a true leader in the space, trusted by many of the most respected figures in DeFi.

Conclusion

In the dynamic and ever-evolving landscape of cryptocurrency, trading consistently remains its largest and most enduring use case. Within this domain, Ekubo is diligently building what is arguably the most advanced and efficient liquidity layer to power this activity. The protocol is not just an incremental improvement; it represents a fundamental step forward in the design of automated market makers.

Ekubo is engineered to provide a superior experience for every type of participant in the DeFi ecosystem. Whether you are a high-frequency trader seeking the best possible execution, a liquidity provider aiming to maximize your capital efficiency and yield, a savvy investor hunting for the next protocol gem, or a developer building the future of finance, Ekubo delivers the tools you need and does so more effectively than any other platform.

If you are a trader, your primary concern is best-in-class execution. This means getting your trades filled with minimal slippage, having access to deep liquidity to handle large orders, and paying the lowest possible gas fees. Ekubo delivers on all these fronts by design. Its architecture, which features ultra-concentrated liquidity, a unique singleton contract model, and the innovative Till pattern, ensures unparalleled efficiency. You have the flexibility to swap directly on the Ekubo interface (using market orders, limit orders, or even sophisticated DCA strategies) or to access its liquidity through an aggregator on either Ethereum or Starknet.

If you are a liquidity provider (LP), your goal is to do more with less capital. Ekubo offers top-tier capital efficiency, allowing you to concentrate your liquidity with incredible precision. Its tick sizes can be as small as 1/100th of a basis point, which is 100 times smaller than what is offered by major competitors. This granularity enables you to deploy your capital exactly where it will be most effective, automate your strategies, and keep your positions in range for longer, thereby maximizing your fee-earning potential.

If you are a gem hunter, you are looking for promising, early-stage protocols with strong fundamentals and significant upside potential. With Ekubo, you are early to one of the most promising projects in all of DeFi. Its token has a 100% float, there is no VC overhead creating future sell pressure, and there is no off-chain mechanism for value extraction. All value generated by the protocol flows directly back to the protocol itself and, by extension, to its token holders. With its multi-chain expansion having only just begun, the potential for growth is immense.

If you are a DeFi builder, Ekubo provides you with a modular, permissionless, and incredibly powerful set of infrastructure. Through its innovative extensions system, you can deploy any DeFi primitive you can imagine directly on top of what is the most efficient and versatile liquidity layer in the entire space, saving you time and resources while giving your application a competitive edge from day one.

Whoever you are, and whatever your goals are in the world of decentralized finance, Ekubo gives you the edge.

When I first wrote about this topic back in September 2023, Ekubo already looked like the AMM endgame. In the time that has passed since then, it has done nothing but consistently prove that thesis to be correct. Its progress has been relentless, and its design has proven to be robust and effective.

Ekubo looked good before. Now, it looks inevitable.

None of the content presented in this document constitutes financial advice. Please remain vigilant, stay SAFU, and always conduct your own thorough research before making any investment decisions.