Overview
Steelswap is a DEX aggregator on Cardano that routes token swaps across multiple decentralized exchanges to find optimal prices and minimize trading costs. Built by pseudonymous developer Elder Millenial under CarDeM Labs, the platform scans liquidity pools on exchanges such as Minswap, SundaeSwap, and Splash to determine the most efficient trade execution path for each swap request.
Steelswap charges zero fees for swaps routed through a single exchange and a flat 1 ADA fee for trades split across multiple pools. The aggregator integrates Charli3 oracles to provide real-time ADA/USD price feeds, giving users accurate dollar-value estimates for their trades1. Beyond standard token swaps, Steelswap supports non-ADA trading pairs and offers swap routing previews so users can see exactly how their trade will be distributed before confirming the transaction.
Key Features
- Multi-DEX swap routing. Splits trades across multiple DEX liquidity pools to maximize token output, scanning all available pools on Cardano to find the best price path.
- Flat fee structure. Single-DEX swaps incur zero aggregator fees, while multi-DEX split trades cost a flat 1 ADA regardless of trade size2.
- Oracle-powered price data. Integrates Charli3 oracles for ADA/USD price feeds, enabling accurate fiat-value estimates for all supported tokens1.
- LP fee optimization research. The founder has published research on using the Steelswap aggregation engine to simulate optimal liquidity provider fee structures, with results applied in live pool experiments on SundaeSwap3.
- Open-source tooling contributions. Collaborates with Charli3 on the Dendrite Python SDK for Cardano DEX aggregation, available as an open-source library1.
What to Expect
The Steelswap interface centers on a single swap panel where users connect a Cardano wallet, select tokens, and view a routing preview before executing. The preview displays how the trade will be split across available DEXs and the expected output amount. The interface is minimal and focused, reflecting the project's emphasis on aggregation mechanics rather than offering a full DApp suite. Users can also access an orders page to track pending and completed transactions, along with a basic portfolio view.
Steelswap operates as a solo-developer project with an active Project Catalyst funding history. Proposals across Funds 14 and 15 outline plans for a V2 upgrade with AI trading interfaces, a global open-source batcher for decentralized order matching, and expanded API infrastructure2. Independent security audits for Steelswap smart contracts have not been publicly identified. The codebase is primarily Python-based, with the founder maintaining several open-source Cardano libraries on GitHub including tools for Plutus smart contract interaction.
