On November 12th, we announced that Velodrome and Aerodrome will soon upgrade into Aero. Below you will find answers to FAQs.

You can also watch the full announcement replay on YouTube.

Aero is a forthcoming unified liquidity layer built on the MetaDEX03 operating system from Dromos Labs. It will coordinate a cross-chain liquidity network, providing an efficient and streamlined way for users to trade, earn, and launch tokens across the onchain economy.

Swap tokens across the multi-chain ecosystem. Aero will automatically route trades through the deepest, most efficient Slipstream V3 liquidity on any connected chain.

Earn AERO rewards by providing liquidity, or earn voting rewards as a token operator (veAERO voter). Aero will include Autopilot, a suite of automation tools designed to make participation simple.

Bootstrap and scale liquidity for new or existing token projects. Builders and token issuers will be able to create markets using Aero Launch, Aero Ignition, or Aero Verified, each designed for different project stages and needs.

Aero will unify Aerodrome and Velodrome to deliver a cohesive, cross-chain MetaDEX experience:

• One liquidity layer across chains

• A single token that concentrates value capture and coordination: AERO

• Unified governance and economics through veAERO

• Seamless cross-chain routing powered by Metaswaps

• Expanded value streams through the REV Engine

• Targeted, dynamic emissions via the Adaptive Emissions Rate (AER) Engine

• A next-generation AMM design with Slipstream V3

• Advanced automation and simplified participation through Autopilot

VELO and AERO tokens will both upgrade into a single AERO token as part of the migration. The unified AERO token will coordinate value, governance, and liquidity across the entire network.

The distribution reflects the actual economic output generated by the two protocols over the 52 week-long epochs leading up to the 11/12 announcement:

• Aerodrome generated $260M

• Velodrome generated $15M

• Combined total: $275M

Resulting allocation:

• 94.5% to AERO and veAERO (Aerodrome) holders

• 5.5% to VELO and veVELO (Velodrome) holders

This is a transparent, data-driven split based solely on real revenue produced. Holders will maintain the same proportional claim they have today, but within a potentially larger, unified economy.

Aero plans to introduce dedicated, easy-to-use migration tools enabling:

• Liquidity providers to migrate existing deposits

• Token issuers to migrate their pools

• veAERO and veVELO holders to migrate their locks

Specific exchanges are expected to manage the migration for their users. However, the specific timing and operational steps are determined by each exchange individually, so users should rely on their exchange’s official updates.

The goal is to make the transition fast, predictable, and seamless for every participant in the ecosystem. Complete documentation will be provided closer to the launch date.

Aero will be infinitely scalable and capable of deploying to any chain in the Ethereum/EVM ecosystem.

Currently planned chains include:

1. Base (hub of the network)

2. Ethereum Mainnet

3. OP Mainnet

4. Arc

5. Syndicate

6. Celo

7. Ink

8. Soneium

9. Unichain

10. Lisk

11. Superseed

12. Mode

13. Metal L2

14. Swellchain

15. Fraxtal

16. Tea

Aero will be built on the full MetaDEX03 stack:

• Capital-efficient AMM

• Internalized MEV auction

• Dynamic, adaptive fees

• Verified institutional pools

• Onchain Order Flow Payments

• Seamless cross-chain trading

• Self-paying swaps

• MEV-protected private execution

• Native Slipstream liquidity

• Vendor-neutral generic messaging

• Interop-abstracted lightweight layer

• Internalized interop transport costs

• Automated LP strategies

• Automated voting, claiming, compounding for veAERO

• One-click optimized liquidity provisioning

With MetaDEX03, emissions will be truly dynamic. The AER (Adaptive Emissions Rate) Engine will help ensure that only the emissions required to support healthy liquidity are released.

• No unnecessary overpayment for liquidity

• Emissions stay competitive where liquidity is most valuable

• The system grows efficiently alongside market conditions

• Rewards rates surge during times of increased trading activity 

This will create a far more precise and optimized model than traditional DEX emissions models.

In parallel, the REV Engine will expand Aero’s ability to generate and internalize new sources of revenue, value that will flow to the AERO token and support liquidity providers without increasing inflation.

At launch, Aero will be able to route value from multiple new verticals, like:

• Applicable front-end swap fees

• Internal MEV auctions in Slipstream V3

• Cross-chain gas payments

• Liquidity automation

• Auto-compounding services

• veNFT marketplace activity

These verticals represent over $2B in annual fees across the industry today.

Aero plans to integrate these services directly, using them to strengthen token economics while keeping fees among the lowest in the industry.

The combination of AER + REV means:

• More value in (REV)

• Less emissions out (AER)

• Stronger economics for LPs and token holders

The Momentum Fund will be the Aero Foundation’s flagship capital allocation program.

It applies lessons from the Public Goods Fund (PGF) and Flight School into one unified initiative for maximizing the impact of veAERO. 

Resources from the PGF and Flight School will be reallocated to the Momentum Fund program, which will focus on three mandates:

Support strategic pools, bootstrap new assets, and accelerate partner growth across the network.

Use rewards to buy back AERO, manage supply intelligently, and lock tokens when beneficial to governance.

Attract top contributors, such as developers, researchers, and other teams, by offering a short- or long-term share of veAERO's value generation to incentivize them.

Aero will unlock a unified liquidity layer that benefits everyone:

• Trade seamlessly across chains

• Best-price routing through Slipstream V3

• No manual bridges, no network switching, no gas seeding

• More efficient AMM

• Auto-rebalancing positions (via Autopilot)

• An extended library of pools to earn rewards from across ecosystems

• Launch tokens that are discoverable across chains

• Bootstrap liquidity with access to incentives

• Access institutional-grade tools (e.g. Verified pools)

• Simple SDKs for web (TypeScript) and agentic (Python) integrations

• Increased internalized revenue streams, powered by REV Engine

• More strategic and net-lower emissions rate, powered by AER Engine

• Competition for dominance across the EVM

Q1 2026.