NFT Trading Goes Live on Uniswap With $5M Airdrop

Non-fungible token (NFT) trading is now available on Uniswap, the decentralized crypto exchange said Wednesday.

Uniswap users will be able to trade digital collectibles across OpenSea, X2Y2, LooksRare, Sudoswap, Larva Labs, Foundation and NFT20 marketplaces using the platform’s NFT aggregator tool. In addition, the platform says its new open-sourced Universal Router contract can save users up to 15% on gas fees compared to other NFT aggregators.

“NFTs and ERC-20 tokens have largely existed as two separate ecosystems within crypto, but both are essential to growing the digital economy,” the company said in a statement. “Launching NFTs on Uniswap is our first step in building more interoperable experiences between the two.”

Accompanying the announcement is a $5 million airdrop to historical users of Genie, the NFT marketplace aggregator Uniswap acquired in June. According to the company, Genie users will be airdropped $300 for completing more than one transaction or $1,000 for holding a Genie: Genesis NFT before a snapshot taken by Uniswap in April. Eligible users can claim their airdrop in USDC for the next 12 months.

In addition, Uniswap is offering gas rebates for the first 22,000 new users who purchase an NFT, with the rebate capped at 0.01 ether (ETH).

Uniswap’s newest product will compete with Blur, an NFT aggregator that launched with backing from venture firm Paradigm in October. Both Blur and Uniswap’s NFT offerings are aimed at professional NFT traders who are continuing to spend despite a prolonged crypto winter.

Uniswap touts itself as the first open-source NFT platform of its kind. The decentralized exchange first released NFTs in 2019 with the launch of Unisocks, an experimental crypto token backed by physical, limited-edition pairs of socks.