$AERO officially took on a new identity this morning: Aerodrome and Velodrome, the two DEXs, merged into a single exchange called Aero. Starting today, the old AERO and VELO tokens are being upgraded to the new AERO.
Aerodrome is the leading spot DEX on Base, while Velodrome was built by the same team on OP Mainnet. AERO is used for staking, deciding which pools receive rewards, and sharing in the exchange’s revenue.
After the upgrade, the veAERO and veVELO that were originally locked will be converted to sAERO, and all exchange revenue from the pools will be distributed instantly to sAERO holders. All new AERO will go to the original tokenholders of both platforms, with no venture capital allocation or separate token sale.
Why this is a big deal: Previously, the two exchanges operated on separate chains, splitting liquidity across multiple pools. Aero is now launching across several chains at once—including Ethereum mainnet, Base, Arbitrum, and Robinhood Chain—and operating as a single exchange. A pool on one chain can also fill orders from other chains, so each chain doesn’t need to maintain its own separate pool.
The reward system is changing too. Rewards will be denominated in dollars, with caps based on each pool’s estimated revenue. AERO that would exceed those caps simply won’t be minted, rather than being distributed in a fixed weekly round as before.
According to the announcement, this model has already distributed more than $580 million to stakers on Base and OP Mainnet. This upgrade brings the same system to more chains.
Aerodrome is the leading spot DEX on Base, while Velodrome was built by the same team on OP Mainnet. AERO is used for staking, deciding which pools receive rewards, and sharing in the exchange’s revenue.
After the upgrade, the veAERO and veVELO that were originally locked will be converted to sAERO, and all exchange revenue from the pools will be distributed instantly to sAERO holders. All new AERO will go to the original tokenholders of both platforms, with no venture capital allocation or separate token sale.
Why this is a big deal: Previously, the two exchanges operated on separate chains, splitting liquidity across multiple pools. Aero is now launching across several chains at once—including Ethereum mainnet, Base, Arbitrum, and Robinhood Chain—and operating as a single exchange. A pool on one chain can also fill orders from other chains, so each chain doesn’t need to maintain its own separate pool.
The reward system is changing too. Rewards will be denominated in dollars, with caps based on each pool’s estimated revenue. AERO that would exceed those caps simply won’t be minted, rather than being distributed in a fixed weekly round as before.
According to the announcement, this model has already distributed more than $580 million to stakers on Base and OP Mainnet. This upgrade brings the same system to more chains.