Overview
SundaeSwap is a decentralized exchange on Cardano that operates as an automated market maker, letting users swap native Cardano tokens, supply liquidity to earn trading fees, and stake LP positions into yield farms1. The protocol is built and maintained by Sundae Labs, which also develops a broader suite of Cardano DeFi and developer tooling. The trading application lives at app.sundae.fi, while sundae.fi serves as the company and product hub.
The V3 release expanded the protocol beyond basic constant-product pools to include stableswap pools for pegged asset pairs and the Sundae Strategies platform for automated trading workflows. Governance of the protocol itself is handled on-chain through the SUNDAE token and a dedicated governance portal.
Key Features
- V3 AMM with stableswaps. SundaeSwap V3 runs Aiken-based smart contracts that support both constant-product pools for general pairs and stableswap pools optimized for pegged assets like DJED, USDA, and USDM2.
- Sundae Strategies platform. A marketplace for community-created trading strategies and automated bots, covering dollar-cost averaging, grid trading, trailing stops, and algorithmic market making for Cardano DeFi3.
- Runtime Verification audit. Runtime Verification audited the V3 smart contracts using formal verification techniques, with the full report published on the Sundae Labs CDN45.
- On-chain governance. SUNDAE token holders vote on protocol upgrades through a dedicated governance portal and community forum, with the token issued as a native Cardano asset capped at two billion supply6.
- Broader Sundae Labs stack. Sundae Labs ships adjacent products including Sundae Rewards for token distribution, Sundae Governance as a service for other projects, the Gastronomy UPLC debugger, and the Gummiworm Hydra layer-2 protocol7.
What to Expect
Using SundaeSwap starts with connecting a CIP-30 compatible Cardano wallet such as Lace, Eternl, or Nami to the app. Once connected, users can swap any listed pair, deposit paired assets into a liquidity pool, or stake LP tokens into active yield farms. Trades settle on-chain through the protocol's scooper model, which batches user orders into Cardano transactions — this is standard for Cardano DEXs and means swaps confirm in the normal block time rather than executing instantly like on order-book exchanges.
Liquidity providers should understand impermanent loss, particularly on volatile pairs. Stableswap pools reduce that exposure for similarly-priced assets, and the Sundae Strategies platform offers automated LP management tools for more active participants. Governance participation requires holding SUNDAE tokens and voting through the governance portal or the forum.
Sundae Labs has a broad Cardano footprint beyond the DEX itself, working with partners including Cardano Foundation, NMKR, NEWM, Liqwid Finance, Indigo Protocol, and jpg.store, and contributing to ecosystem-wide infrastructure such as the Amaru Rust node and the Hydra transaction stream plugin7. That positions SundaeSwap as both a venue for trading and a lens into wider Cardano DeFi development.
