Pool Depth (DEX)
The total value of digital assets in a DEX liquidity pool, determining its ability to handle trades with minimal price impact.
What is Pool Depth (DEX)?
Pool depth refers to the total quantity of paired digital assets (e.g., ETH/USDC) locked in a DEX liquidity pool, directly affecting trade execution and slippage. Deeper pools, with higher asset volumes, absorb larger trades with less price deviation, enhancing efficiency. As of September 2025, Uniswap V3’s deepest pool, USDC/WETH, holds $1.2 billion in depth, supporting $500 million daily volume with <0.05% slippage on $10,000 trades, per DeFiLlama data. Shallow pools (e.g., $100,000 depth) can see 5% slippage on similar trades, increasing costs. Protocols like Balancer monitor depth to optimize multi-token pools, but low depth risks price manipulation, as seen in a 2024 exploit draining $3 million from a small pool. Users should check pool depth via analytics like Dune to gauge trading reliability in DeFi’s $123.6 billion ecosystem.
Related Terms
Market Maker (order book)
An entity providing liquidity by placing buy and sell limit orders in the order book.
DYOR
Do Your Own Research (DYOR) is a widely used acronym in the digital asset space, urging investors to independently verify information before committing funds to any project or token.
Insurance Fund
A reserve fund used to cover losses from liquidations or system imbalances.
Fixed Rate (Lending)
A stable interest rate locked for a specific period in DeFi lending.
Dual-Offline Payment
A feature allowing transactions without internet for both parties, using NFC or similar tech.
Ethereum Node
A software client that participates in Ethereum’s Proof-of-Stake network to validate, store, or relay blockchain data.