Despite surging transaction volumes and record fee generation, Uniswap (UNI) remains under pressure, trading far below its 2024 highs. As of Monday, UNI was priced at $6.50, barely above its year-to-date low of $4.92. However, underlying fundamentals suggest a potential breakout if technical support holds.
Uniswap Sees Volume and Revenue Spike in May
According to data from DeFi Llama, Uniswap processed over $73 billion in trading volume this month, up significantly from $53.2 billion in April. This marks the highest monthly increase since February, when volume briefly reached $78 billion.
Most of this activity came from the Ethereum network, followed by Arbitrum, Base, and Unichain Uniswap’s new proprietary chain launched earlier this year. Notably, Unichain alone processed over $14 billion, outperforming established competitors like Cardano, which reported just $4.9 billion in the same period.
Fee Revenue Tops Ethereum’s in 2025
Uniswap isn’t just growing in usage it’s also proving financially robust. According to TokenTerminal, Uniswap has generated more than $380 million in revenue year-to-date, surpassing Ethereum’s $275 million. This milestone underscores the DEX’s growing dominance in decentralized finance and positions it as one of the most profitable DeFi protocols globally.
Whale Activity and Market Competition Hold Back UNI
Despite strong fundamentals, UNI’s price remains 65% below its December 2024 high. Part of this underperformance is linked to increasing competition. PancakeSwap, a leading DEX on BNB Chain, processed nearly $100 billion in volume this month eclipsing Uniswap’s performance and drawing liquidity away from the protocol.
Another major concern is whale distribution. Data from Santiment shows that whales have offloaded over 100 million UNI tokens since December, reducing their holdings from 850 million to 748 million. This sell-off is often seen as a bearish signal, reflecting reduced long-term confidence from large holders.
Technical Outlook: Bullish Pattern or Breakdown?
The weekly price chart paints an intriguing picture. UNI is currently trading near a long-standing ascending trendline, dating back to June 2022, which has consistently acted as strong support.
The asset has also formed a megaphone pattern a structure defined by widening, diverging trendlines. Often considered bullish, this pattern suggests a potential breakout that could send UNI soaring toward $19.24, the high from November 2024. That would represent a nearly 200% upside from current levels.
However, the pattern comes with risk: a breakdown below the lower trendline would invalidate the bullish case and potentially signal a deeper correction.
Uniswap is showing impressive growth in volume, revenue, and multi-chain expansion, yet its native token remains weighed down by market competition and whale selling. With a strong technical support zone holding for now, UNI’s next move may hinge on broader market sentiment and adoption of Unichain.
If momentum builds and buyers step in, a breakout from the megaphone pattern could offer one of the most compelling upside opportunities in DeFi. But caution is warranted failure to hold support could lead to further downside despite the protocol’s thriving fundamentals.
