The Uniswap (UNI) token surged roughly 15% in 24 hours on February 26, 2026, significantly outperforming the broader crypto market. This rally was catalyzed by a major governance proposal that could reshape the protocol's revenue collection and tokenomics.
The core of the proposal involves expanding Uniswap's "fee switch" mechanism to eight additional blockchain networks. These include Base, OP Mainnet, Arbitrum, Celo, Soneium, Worldchain, X Layer, and Zora. The fee switch redirects a portion of trading fees from liquidity providers to the protocol treasury, which is then used for UNI token buybacks and burns.
A key change in the proposal is the shift from a pool-by-pool fee activation model to a tier-based V3 system. This would apply protocol fees across all liquidity pools by default. A new tool called the v3OpenFeeAdapter would automate fee collection for all new V3 pools, eliminating the need for individual governance approval for each one.
Estimates from analysts, including Entropy Advisors, suggest this expansion could generate approximately $27 million in additional annualized revenue. This is on top of the roughly $34 million in annualized revenue already being captured since the fee switch launched in late 2025. To date, the protocol has burned over $5.5 million worth of UNI.
The governance process is split into two separate on-chain votes due to transaction size limits. The second and crucial vote is scheduled to run from February 27 to March 1, 2026. If accepted, fees from V2 and V3 protocols on the new Layer-2 chains will be collected in a TokenJar on each respective network and then bridged back to the Uniswap mainnet for UNI burns.
The financial impact is already visible. According to DeFi Llama data, Uniswap recorded approximately $3.12 million in gross profit in Q1 2026, a stark contrast to effectively zero in prior periods. Another report notes a net profit of $2.75M for the quarter, marking a return to profitability after multiple quarters of net losses. The protocol generates a total of over $938M in annualized fees.
Following the announcement, UNI broke above the $4.00 level, reaching a one-week high of $4.04. Technical analysis indicates the token is holding a key support zone, with the daily RSI around 56 and the MACD showing fresh bullish momentum. The rally occurred alongside rising open interest and positive funding rates. Notably, BlackRock recently purchased UNI tokens as part of a plan to use Uniswap to facilitate trading for its BUIDL tokenized Treasury fund.
