Uniswap V4 Hooks Explained

Uniswap V4 Hooks Explained

Uniswap V4 hooks enable developers to customize DEX pools on Ethereum by injecting smart contract logic at points like swaps and liquidity changes, transforming standard AMMs into tailored solutions. This comparison evaluates 10 prominent hooks and protocols built on them to help you select the best for your DeFi project, factoring in gas efficiency, features, and security. Whether building a custom AMM or optimizing trades, these options leverage V4's singleton contract and flash accounting for up to 99% lower deployment costs.

Platform FeatureCost/RateBest For
BunniCLAMM Pitfall Fixes0.05% dynamic feeLPs seeking stable yields
Silo V2Isolated Lending SilosPool deploy ~0.01 ETHRisk isolated markets
EulerSwapDynamic Fee Adjustment0.1%-0.3% volatility basedVolatile token trading
Limit Order HookOn Chain Limit Orders0.15% per fillPrecise trade execution
Dynamic Fee HookMarket Driven Fees0.01%-1% adaptiveHigh volume DEXes
MEV Guard HookFront Running Protection0.02 ETH setupMEV sensitive trades
TWAMM HookTime Weighted AMMFlat 0.05% over 24hLong term swaps
Volatility OracleReal Time Price FeedsFree with 0.1% query feeOracle dependent apps
Yield BoosterAuto Compounding0.3% performance feePassive LP strategies
Custom Curve HookBypass Concentrated Liquidity~0.005 ETH per poolNovel AMM designs

Bunni uses Uniswap V4 hooks to address concentrated liquidity AMM pitfalls, delivering stable yields for liquidity providers on Ethereum DEX pools. It targets inefficiencies in V3-style models by automating rebalancing and fee capture.

Expect 20-30% higher effective APRs compared to plain V4 pools, with hooks triggering adjustments every 1,000 blocks. Deployment runs under 0.02 ETH thanks to the singleton contract, and native ETH support cuts swap gas by half.

  • Automates liquidity concentration for 15% less impermanent loss.
  • Integrates flash accounting to settle fees in one go, saving 40k gas per trade.
  • Handles up to 10x volume spikes without fee hikes.
  • Requires audited hooks to avoid reentrancy risks.
  • LPs see 0.05% base fees split 80/20 provider/protocol.

Test on Sepolia testnet first; pair with Unichain for 50% faster confirms at 1 gwei gas.

Silo V2: Permissionless Lending Markets

Core Mechanic: Hooks enable isolated lending silos on Uniswap V4, where each market confines risk to specific assets without cross contamination.

Permissionless deployment lets anyone spin up a silo for under 0.01 ETH, using V4's flash accounting to track borrows atomically. Borrowing rates adjust via hook oracles, capping at 5% above pool volatility.

  • Zero approval for new assets-deploy in one tx.
  • Isolates bad debt to 0.1% of total TVL.
  • Supports native ETH collateral at 21k gas savings.
  • Custom deltas allow 2% withdrawal fees on LPs.

Monitor hook upgradeability; use multi sig for admin keys to prevent centralization exploits.

EulerSwap: Volatility Adaptive Trading

Each swap in EulerSwap costs between 0.1% and 0.3%, scaling directly with 1-hour price volatility measured by integrated oracles. This hook shines in turbulent markets, where fees drop to 0.05% during low vol periods on Ethereum mainnet.

  • Reduces slippage by 25% via dynamic pricing curves.
  • MEV mitigation bundles trades, cutting front run losses to under 0.01%.
  • Singleton efficiency means multi hop swaps under 200k gas total.
  • High customization risks arithmetic overflows-audit tick crossings rigorously.
  • Best paired with 1,000+ ETH pools for liquidity depth.

Start with small positions; simulate 10x leverage scenarios to validate hook deltas.

Limit Order Hook: Precision On Chain Orders

How affordable are fills? At 0.15% per executed order, this hook executes limit trades natively in V4 pools without off chain relays. Orders persist for 7 days or until filled, leveraging transient storage for zero ongoing gas.

Over 50% of orders fill within 1 block on Unichain, where V4 volume hits 50% of Ethereum's.

  • No keeper fees-pure on chain matching.
  • Integrates with hooks for TWAP pricing at 0.01% extra.
  • Supports up to 100 orders per pool without bloat.

Verify hook permissions before depositing; avoid unvetted creators to sidestep malicious deltas.

Dynamic Fee Hook: Adaptive Revenue Models

Fees flex from 0.01% in calm markets to 1% during spikes, auto adjusted by hook logic scanning 15-minute candles. High volume DEXes report 2x revenue uplift, with V4's native ETH slashing user costs by 50% per trade.

  • Tiers unlock at $100k daily volume: 0.3% rebate for makers.
  • Flash accounting bundles 10 swaps for 30% gas savings.
  • Custom curves boost LP APRs by 18% on average.
  • Edge cases like tick boundaries demand extra tests.
  • Over 100 new hooks daily-pick audited ones from incubators.

Combine with yield farms; track fee accrual via Etherscan for real time tweaks.

MEV Guard Hook: Protecting Against Front Running

Setup takes 0.02 ETH once per pool, then guards trades with private mempool submission and sandwich detection. On Ethereum, it blocks 90% of MEV attacks, preserving 0.5-2% per trade value.

Works with V4 singleton for atomic multi hops at 99% lower deploy costs.

  • Private relays cut visibility to 1% of bots.
  • Auto refunds failed guards at no extra cost.
  • Compatible with native ETH-no WETH wrap needed.

Pair with low gas L2s like Unichain; rotate keys quarterly for security.

TWAMM Hook: Smooth Long Term Swaps

Trades execute over 24 hours at a flat 0.05% rate, virtualizing liquidity to minimize market impact by up to 80%. Ideal for large ETH swaps, where V4 flash accounting settles net balances in one cheap tx.

  • Breaks $1M orders into 1,440 micro swaps.
  • Zero slippage on linear curves.
  • Hook callbacks enable mid execution pauses.
  • Requires 10 ETH min for stability.
  • Gas per full auction: under 50k total.

Use for treasury rebalances; monitor oracle drift hourly.

Volatility Oracle Hook: Live Price Insights

Query Costs: Free for basics, 0.1% on paid high res feeds updated every block. Delivers TWAP and spot vol to other hooks, powering 70% of V4's advanced DEX strategies.

In volatile pairs, accuracy hits 99.5% over 1-hour windows, beating Chainlink by 20% on gas.

  • Pulls from 5 sources for redundancy.
  • Transient storage keeps state costs at zero.
  • Alerts on 10% vol jumps via callbacks.

Integrate with lending hooks; calibrate for your token's beta.

Yield Booster: Automated Compounding

Compounds LP fees every 100 blocks at 0.3% take, netting providers 25% extra APR on Uniswap V4 pools. Native ETH handling means no wrap fees, and hooks auto adjust ranges based on 7-day vol.

TVL over $10M unlocks tiered boosts up to 40%.

  • Handles impermanent loss hedges dynamically.
  • Singleton deploys boosters for 0.005 ETH.
  • Secure against reentrancy with delta checks.
  • Performance audited for arithmetic safety.

Enable notifications for compound events; withdraw during low vol.

Custom Curve Hook: Beyond Concentrated Liquidity

This hook bypasses V4's core CLAMM entirely, letting you define curves like constant product or hybrid models settled via the singleton. Pool creation hits ~0.005 ETH, with swaps 60% cheaper than V3 forks.

  • Full override of swap math for niche assets.
  • Benefits from flash accounting: net settles 20 trades at once.
  • Supports ERC-6909 tokens natively.
  • Large attack surface-test boundary ticks exhaustively.
  • Unlocks multi billion AMM experimentation.

Audit thrice before mainnet; start with $100k test TVL.

Uniswap V4 Hooks Explained: Core Mechanics

Hooks are external contracts triggered at eight points in V4 pool lifecycles: before/after initialize, modify liquidity, swap, and donate. They use custom deltas to tweak balances, enabling features like withdrawal fees or full AMM redesigns on Ethereum's DEX infrastructure.

  • Singleton contract manages all pools, cutting deploy gas 99% to ~50k units.
  • Flash accounting via EIP-1153 tracks nets without per swap transfers, saving 40k gas.
  • Native ETH trades at 21k gas vs. 40k for ERC-20, boosting AMM efficiency.
  • Up to 100 hooks added daily via incubators, expanding DeFi use cases.

Security Risks in Uniswap V4 Hooks

Hooks expand attack surfaces with overrideable swap logic, risking arithmetic bugs or malicious deltas. Benign vulnerabilities like tick mishandling can drain pools, while upgradeable hooks pose centralization threats.

  • Audit for reentrancy, especially in custom accounting.
  • Test edge cases: exact tick starts, word boundaries.
  • Use verified hooks from QuillAudits or Cyfrin lists.
  • MEV risks mitigated but not eliminated-combine guards.

Implementing Uniswap V4 Hooks: Actionable Steps

  1. Set up Hardhat with Uniswap V4 core repo; fork mainnet for local testing at 30 tx/s.
  2. Write hook contract specifying flags like HOOKSWAP or HOOKAFTER_SWAP; deploy to 0xPoolManager.
  3. Create pool via singleton: specify hook address, fee tier 0.3%, tick spacing 60 for ETH pairs.
  4. Test deltas: simulate +1% fee extraction, verify balances post tx with Foundry fuzzing.
  5. Deploy to Unichain for 50% V4 volume share and sub-1s finals; gas caps at 1 gwei.
  6. Audit via BlockSec model: check thorns like vulnerable hooks; fix before $1M TVL.
  7. Integrate frontend with ethers.js v6; approve Currency.wrap for native ETH.
  8. Monitor via Dune: track hook calls, fee accrual hitting $44.7M cumulative.
  9. Scale with ERC-6909 for multi token; optimize for 10x HFT loads.
  10. Comply BSL 1.1-no forks till 2027; join Hook Incubator for grants.
J

James Mitchell

Crypto Analyst & Writer