PancakeSwap Forks Uniswap V3, Draws $140 Million in Total Value Locked

PancakeSwap V3 has attracted millions of dollars of liquidity in the four days since it deployed a forked version of Uniswap V3.

“It’s a fork of Uniswap V3, but with a twist,” says DeFi researcher Ignas.

Decentralized exchange PancakeSwap has forked Uniswap V3, becoming the first protocol to gain substantial traction since Uniswap’s Business Source License (BSL) expired last week.

Until April 1, the BSL made it illegal for other protocols to copy Uniswap V3’s code and launch their own versions for commercial use. PancakeSwap moved quickly, deploying its Automatic Market Maker (AMM) V3 on Binance Smart Chain (BSC) and Ethereum just one day after the license expired.

So far, the PancakeSwap fork has garnered $140 million in Total Value Locked (TVL), the majority of which sits on BSC. According to data from DeFiLlama, $129 million was locked on BSC and $12 million was locked on Ethereum at the time of writing.

1/ PancakeSwap just launched the new V3.

It’s a fork of Uniswap v3, but with a twist: featuring user experience enhancements for greater ease of use.

Here’s what’s new: 🧵

— Ignas | DeFi Research (@DefiIgnas) April 3, 2023

DeFi researcher Ignas described the PancakeSwap fork as one that improves upon certain pain points of Uniswap V3. One of them is a soon to be launched Automatic Position Manager that will enable one-click liquidity depositing, maintaining liquidity such that it is easy to earn fees and rewards.

It will also provide liquidity providers with real-time APR figures, based on historical volume and their position, negating the need for third-party tools. Other upgrades include options to route liquidity through sources like StableSwap and an advanced built-in order system that will be launched soon.

“Overall, PancakesSwap V3 is bringing what PCS [PancakeSwap] has always done the best: Improved users experience for retail users & rewards, while benefiting from the Uni V3 capital efficiency,” said Ignas. 

Market participants can expect more forks to come in the next few weeks. SushiSwap, a protocol born from a fork of Uniswap V2, deployed its own fork of Uniswap V3 on Wednesday. SushiSwap V3 attracted $74,000 in liquidity within the first hour of deployment.