Dromos Labs Bets on DEXs With Aero, Taking Aim at Uniswap and Curve

While much of the crypto industry’s attention over the past year has centered on stablecoins, tokenized U.S. Treasuries and institutional onramps, Dromos Labs believes the most important battle in crypto is happening at a different layer: decentralized exchanges. According to Alex Cutler, CEO of Dromos Labs, the exchange layer is now the “second most important layer” in the onchain economy, right after blockchains themselves.

That conviction is driving Dromos Labs’ boldest move yet. The company is preparing to launch Aero, a unified decentralized exchange that will merge its two flagship protocols, Aerodrome and Velodrome, into a single operating system. The launch, targeted for the second quarter of 2026, will also mark Dromos Labs’ expansion to Ethereum mainnet, placing it in direct competition with dominant DEXs like Uniswap and Curve.

Today, Aerodrome commands a major share of trading activity on Coinbase’s Base network, while Velodrome plays a similar role across Optimism’s Superchain. Aerodrome currently holds nearly $500 million in total value locked and crossed $1 billion in December 2025, accounting for roughly 25% of Base’s total TVL at its peak. Dromos Labs believes this level of dominance can be replicated on Ethereum.

Cutler argues that decentralized finance is not stagnating but consolidating. Nearly every major crypto narrative, from institutional foreign exchange to memecoins, still relies on deep liquidity and efficient token exchange. In his view, exchanges, not blockchains, will ultimately become the primary centers of value as more real-world and financial assets move onchain.

This philosophy also explains Dromos Labs’ increasingly direct criticism of Uniswap. Earlier this year, Uniswap governance advanced a proposal to share protocol revenue with UNI token holders. Cutler publicly opposed the move, arguing it weakens incentives for liquidity providers, which he sees as the backbone of any decentralized exchange.

With Aero, Dromos Labs aims to serve both retail users and institutions. The protocol is being designed with onchain automation, reduced operational risk and built-in compliance tooling to meet institutional standards. As capital markets continue to migrate onchain, Cutler believes the fight to “own the exchange layer” will define the next chapter of crypto’s evolution.