Aerodrome and Velodrome merge into Aero, a single DEX across seven chains
What's the deal? Decentralised exchanges AerodromeDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → and Velodrome have merged into Aero, a single protocol trading across seven blockchain networks under one AERO token. The combined exchange launched on October 21, 2026, spanning Base, Ethereum mainnet, OP Mainnet, Arbitrum, Ink, Arc, and Robinhood Chain, according to core developer Dromos LabsDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →.
What do they do? Both protocols run on the Optimism Superchain ecosystem, using a shared model built around liquidity incentives and vote-escrowed governance tokens. Aerodrome dominates its home chain, Base, while Velodrome leads on OP Mainnet.
Why now? The merger turns two chain-leading positions into a bid for cross-chain scale. The seven networks together handled roughly $112 billion in DEX volume over the past 30 days — nearly four times the combined $30.6 billion on Base and OP Mainnet, per DefiLlama.
What changes for holders? AERO converts to the new token at 1:1, while each VELO converts at about 0.044 AERO. Supply splits 94.5% to the Aerodrome community and 5.5% to Velodrome, matching each protocol's share of combined revenue before the merger was announced. Dromos said 100% of exchange revenue at launch goes to sAERO holders.
What's the endgame? Aero replaces the weekly emissions votes of its predecessors with Predictive Allocation, under which holders stake AERO to direct rewards toward markets they expect to generate fees. The project said it has no venture-capital backing or token sale, with audits from SherlockDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → and ChainSecurityDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →.
What could go wrong? Predictive Allocation is untested at launch. "Any institution that can be distilled into code will be," said Alex Cutler, founder and CEO of Dromos Labs — but actual volume will depend on user adoption and liquidity migration beyond the protocols' home chains.
The signal: The deal is one of the more significant consolidations among decentralised exchanges this year, reflecting a wider shift toward multi-chain deployments to follow liquidity and users. Still, Aero faces much larger rivals such as Uniswap and PancakeSwapDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, making the merger a meaningful strategic expansion rather than proof of durable market-share gains.
Read more: bitcoininsider.org
Image credit: Generated with Gemini
