Aerodrome

What it does

• Provides the session entry-point used across the app: /dash (Title: Connect) and multiple functional routes that hard-stop to the same connect flow (notably /vote, /locks, /incentivize).
• Communicates the product scope right at the gate: the hero line “Swap, deposit, take to the skies” sets expectations before any onchain reads.

UI/interaction details observed

• Primary connection buttons on /dash: Browser Wallet, WalletConnect, Coinbase Wallet, Binance Wallet.
• Copy indicates dependency on an EVM wallet: “You’ll need an Ethereum Wallet to continue.”
• Navigation context is visible even when gated: Dashboard / Swap / Liquidity / Vote / Lock / Incentivize / Connect.
• Consistent outbound utilities are present across pages via footer/header: Documentation, Security, Flight School, Aero Launch, Analytics, Support, and Website Mirrors.

Strategic significance

• This module enforces a clear boundary between public marketing/docs and stateful DeFi actions. It reduces ambiguous UX states (e.g., partial pool/vote data without an address context) and standardizes wallet onboarding across all high-risk actions.
• The repeatable connect wall on /vote, /locks, and /incentivize suggests Aerodrome treats governance and emissions allocation as first-class, wallet-authenticated workflows rather than read-only dashboards.

Paths explicitly gated to Connect in these notes: /vote, /locks, /incentivize, plus the dedicated entry /dash.

What it does

• /swap is the primary trading surface (Heading: “Swap”) for executing token swaps on Base.
• The interface is built as a two-asset sell/buy form with balance-aware token selectors.

Concrete UI elements

• Wallet call-to-action: Connect (top-level button).
• Sell side shows token + balance: “Balance 0.0 ETH” with token button ETH.
• Buy side shows token + balance: “Balance 0.0 AERO” with token button AERO.
• The form is implicitly a quote-and-execute flow: select sell token, select buy token, then submit once connected.

Operational cues from the page

• The footer exposes a build/version marker: “2026 v5.0.0+0c95fa”, useful for regression tracking and auditability of UI releases.
• Additional links in-context: Documentation, Security, Brand Kit, Flight School, Aero Launch, Analytics, Support, Website Mirrors—indicating the swap is the central hub that routes to all other modules.

Strategic significance

• The swap UI anchors Aerodrome’s role as “the central liquidity hub on Base network” by making execution friction low and by foregrounding AERO as a default routeable asset (the buy side prefilled with AERO in the observed state).
• Balance-first rendering (even when 0.0) suggests the UI is designed to be address-contextual and to prevent mis-sizing trades; the token buttons indicate a likely token-search modal even though the modal contents aren’t shown in these notes.

Key path: /swap.

What it does

• /liquidity is the pool marketplace and liquidity provisioning surface. It’s framed explicitly as LP enablement: “Provide liquidity to enable low-slippage swaps and earn AERO emissions.”
• Supports both pool discovery and pool creation via a launcher entry.

Visible data rails & controls

• Prominent metrics categories displayed near the top: Volume, Fees, TVL (implying sortable analytics views per pool/token).
• Main discovery tabs: Pools and Tokens.
• Action entry-point: “Launch pool” (connects to creation workflow).
• Search input field: “Symbol or address…” (supports ERC-20 lookup by ticker or contract address).
• Filter/sort controls are explicit buttons/toggles: Token Listed & Emerging, Type Any, Autopilot Inactive, Advanced Inactive, Sort TVL, Filters Default.
• Data-loading state indicates live chain reads: “Loading onchain data……”

Strategic significance

• This module is the supply-side complement to /swap: it turns trading flow into TVL and fee generation, while integrating emissions distribution as an LP acquisition lever.
• The presence of Autopilot and Advanced toggles suggests Aerodrome supports multiple pool management modes (e.g., simplified vs. expert LP flows), which is critical for onboarding both retail LPs and professional market makers.
• Token Listed & Emerging implies a curation/visibility layer—important for risk segmentation and for guiding users toward vetted assets while still allowing discovery of newer markets.

Key path: /liquidity.

What it does

• Governance and locking are represented by /locks and /vote, both currently presenting the same Connect gate in the observed state. The app’s global navigation still exposes these modules as core primitives: Vote and Lock.
• The docs (/docs) and Flight School (/flight-school) clarify the conceptual model referenced by these pages: AERO can be locked to receive veAERO, which participates in emissions and governance mechanics.

Observed UX behavior

• /locks and /vote show the standard connect hero: “Swap, deposit, take to the skies” plus the wallet requirement “You’ll need an Ethereum Wallet to continue.”
• Connection options are consistent with /dash: Browser Wallet, WalletConnect, Coinbase Wallet, Binance Wallet.

What the surrounding documentation implies

• /docs includes dedicated headings that map to expected functionality once connected:
  • Tokenomics, Initial Distribution
  • Emissions, Rebase, Projected Emission Schedule
  • Emission Rewards, Team Emissions
• The presence of a table with columns AERO | Amount | Percentage and veAERO | Amount | Percentage indicates quantitative disclosures that typically underpin governance weight and distribution.

Strategic significance

• Wallet-gating governance prevents ambiguous read-only participation and encourages aligned behavior: users must hold/connect to see their lock/vote power.
• Making Lock and Vote top-level modules (peer to Swap/Liquidity) signals Aerodrome’s core flywheel: LPs earn emissions, emissions are directed by veAERO governance, and that in turn shapes liquidity placement.

Key paths: /locks, /vote, with supporting mechanics documented on /docs and explained in /flight-school FAQs.

What it does

• /incentivize is positioned as a first-class module in the main navigation (Incentivize), but in the observed state it routes to the standard Connect gate.
• Functionally, the naming and IA suggest this is where protocols/teams (or users) would add incentives to pools, aligning with Aerodrome’s liquidity hub positioning.

Observed UI

• The /incentivize page currently mirrors /dash:
  • Headings: “Swap, deposit,take to the skies”, “Connect”
  • Wallet buttons: Browser Wallet, WalletConnect, Coinbase Wallet, Binance Wallet
  • Copy: “Aerodrome is a decentralized exchange where you can execute low-fee swaps, deposit tokens to earn rewards, and actively participate in the onchain economy.”

How this ties to onchain economics (from other pages)

• /liquidity explicitly references earning AERO emissions, implying incentives are not purely fee-based; emissions are a programmable subsidy layer.
• /docs devotes large surface area to Emissions, Rebase, and Emission Rewards, suggesting that the incentivize module is a practical interface over those token flows.

Strategic significance

• Separating Incentivize from Liquidity is a product decision: LP provisioning is supply-side, while incentives are demand-generation and liquidity targeting. This enables a two-sided marketplace where projects can compete for liquidity without changing the swap UX.
• The fact that /incentivize is wallet-gated indicates incentives likely involve approvals/transfers and possibly time-bound programs, which require address-specific state (balances, allowances, ownership).

Key path: /incentivize (currently gated to Connect).

What it does

• /launcher (Title: “Built to launch”) is Aerodrome’s launch-oriented product surface branded as Aero Launch.
• It targets new token markets and liquidity bootstrapping, emphasizing speed and visibility on Base.

Page structure & promises (explicit headings/buttons)

• Primary headings:
  • “Built to launch”
  • “Aero Launch”
  • “Launch your liquidity” with sub-points: “100% permissionless”, “Lock liquidity”, “Earn fees”
  • Additional sections: “Get noticed”, “Launch your way”, “Join the ranks of successful Base launches.”, “Activate the flywheel”
• Buttons: Connect, Website Mirrors.

Functional linkage to other modules

• /liquidity includes a direct creation entry: “Launch pool”. This indicates the launchpad isn’t isolated marketing; it’s connected to actual pool instantiation from the liquidity marketplace.

Strategic significance

• This module formalizes Aerodrome as more than a venue for existing tokens. By making pool creation and launch visibility part of the product, Aerodrome captures early liquidity (day-one markets) and increases long-term TVL.
• The explicit emphasis on permissionless creation plus locking liquidity suggests the launch flow is designed to address common launch risks (rug concerns, shallow liquidity), while earn fees frames the economics for initial LPs.

Key path: /launcher, with creation entry visible on /liquidity via Launch pool.

What it does

• /docs provides protocol-level documentation: mechanics, tokenomics, emissions schedule, and distribution tables.
• /security provides operational security posture and a contract address registry.

Concrete artifacts on /docs

• Major headings: About Aerodrome, Aerodrome Mechanics, Tokenomics, Initial Distribution, Emissions, Rebase, Projected Emission Schedule, Emission Rewards, Team Emissions.
• A disclosure table with columns:
  • AERO | Amount | Percentage
  • veAERO | Amount | Percentage
• Navigation/utility buttons: Connect, Index, Website Mirrors.

Concrete artifacts on /security

• Headings: Security Overview, Emergency Council, Foundations and Public Goods Fund, Contract Addresses, Pool Launcher.
• A contract registry table split by categories with columns:
  • Contract Name | Address
  • Slipstream Contract Name | Address
  • Misc Contract Name | Address

Strategic significance

• The docs surface is essential for institutional due diligence: emissions and rebase mechanics are the primary drivers of yield and governance power, and the tables indicate Aerodrome publishes quantitative allocations.
• The security module reduces integration risk by providing canonical addresses (including Pool Launcher) and defining escalation governance via an Emergency Council—critical for incident response and for third-party tooling that needs verified contracts.

Key paths: /docs, /security.

What it does

• /flight-school is an educational + incentive wrapper around locking AERO, designed to convert users into long-duration governance participants.
• It explicitly connects user behavior (locking) to periodic reward distribution.

Observed structure and interaction

• Primary heading: “Flight School”.
• Key callout: “Lock AERO, get a bonus”.
• Program partner emphasis: Coinbase One section with the rule: “Coinbase One members’ locks are weighted 1.3x when the Flight School bonus is calculated”.
• CTA for onboarding: “Start your free trial”.
• FAQ-driven UI with clickable question buttons:
  • What is Flight School?
  • When do new classes begin?
  • How do I qualify?
  • What is “locking”?
  • What’s the difference between AERO and veAERO?
  • What are “emissions”?
  • How is Flight School funded?
  • How much will I get?
• Header includes standard navigation and Connect.

Strategic significance

• Flight School is a conversion funnel into the ve-token system: it educates on AERO vs veAERO and uses a time-based cadence (“Every four weeks”) to create habitual participation.
• The 1.3x weighting introduces a measurable multiplier that can materially change user lock decisions, and it anchors Aerodrome to Coinbase’s ecosystem on Base.

Key path: /flight-school.