Aerodrome

What is Aerodrome?

Aerodrome is a decentralized exchange on Base, the Ethereum layer 2 network incubated by Coinbase. AERO is paid to liquidity providers as rewards, and people who lock AERO as veAERO vote on where those rewards go and collect the trading fees and incentives from the pools they vote for.

What it’s used for

Traders swap on Aerodrome directly or through aggregators and wallets that route through its pools on Base. Liquidity providers stake their positions to earn AERO. Projects that want liquidity for their tokens pay incentives to veAERO voters to attract rewards to their pools, and voters earn those incentives plus trading fees.

Role of the AERO token:

Evidence of real use

• Aerodrome launched on August 28, 2023, without venture backing or a token sale, and says it distributes 100% of the revenue it generates to participants. Source
• Aerodrome's docs state it will merge with Velodrome, the leading DEX on the Optimism Superchain, in 2026 to form a combined protocol called Aero. Source
• On November 22, 2025, attackers hijacked Aerodrome's domain names (DNS) and redirected some users to phishing pages; the smart contracts were not affected. Source

How Aerodrome works

Aerodrome offers two kinds of pools: classic pools where liquidity spans all prices, and concentrated-liquidity pools, called Slipstream, where providers choose a price range. Traders pay a fee on each swap. Unlike most exchanges, liquidity providers who stake in Aerodrome's reward system give up their share of trading fees and instead earn newly emitted AERO, while the fees go to voters.

To vote, you lock AERO for up to four years and receive veAERO, a non-transferable position represented as an NFT. Each week, veAERO holders choose which pools receive the next batch of AERO emissions. In return, voters earn the trading fees from those pools and any extra incentives, sometimes called bribes, that projects offer to attract votes. This model, often called ve(3,3), came from Velodrome on Optimism, which was built by the same team, now Dromos Labs.

In 2026, Aerodrome and Velodrome are merging into a single protocol called Aero, intended to serve Base, Optimism-based chains and Ethereum. Coinbase has said AERO balances on its platform will convert one-for-one to the new token, while VELO converts at a much smaller ratio. If you hold AERO, follow official Aerodrome channels for migration steps and be wary of fake migration sites.

Key moments

1. 2023Aerodrome launches on Base on August 28, built by the Velodrome team.
2. 2025Attackers hijack Aerodrome and Velodrome websites through their domain names in November; contracts are unaffected.
3. 2026Aerodrome and Velodrome move to merge into a single protocol called Aero.

Supply

AERO is issued weekly as liquidity rewards, with the weekly amount set by a schedule and, later, by veAERO votes, so there is no fixed maximum supply. Lockers also receive new veAERO to offset dilution. The merger into Aero changes the token, so check official docs for the post-merger supply model.

Risks to understand

• Front-end and phishing risk: the 2025 DNS hijack showed that even a safe contract can be reached through a compromised website.
• Migration risk: the merger into Aero involves new tokens and contracts, and scammers often target token migrations.
• Emissions dilution: ongoing AERO rewards add supply, which can weigh on holders who do not lock.
• Locking risk: veAERO locks of up to four years cannot be undone early.
• Base dependency: Aerodrome relies on Base, whose sequencer is operated by Coinbase.

Last reviewed October 4, 2026 by The Crypto Guide editorial team. Utility Lens ratings are editorial judgments, not investment advice. Market data from CoinGecko. Spot an error? Request a correction.