Gas cuts small Uniswap v3 winners from 51% to 18%

Only 18% of Uniswap v3 liquidity positions below $1,000 outperformed holding the deposited tokens after gas costs, compared with 51% before gas, according to an October 16 study by blockchain data firm Bitquery. The analysis covered 71,166 closed regular positions across eight Ethereum v3 pools.

Bitquery examined positions opened and closed between October 14, 2025, and October 13, 2026. The sampled pools were selected based on their number of new positions in mid-2026. Regular positions opened and closed within a single block were excluded.

For each closed position, Bitquery compared the value of the returned tokens and collected fees with the value of the original deposits at the exit price. It then deducted the gas paid for liquidity transactions. Across all position sizes, 49% beat holding before gas and 34% did so after gas.

The median gas cost for positions below $1,000 was 67 cents. Among positions worth $1,000 to $10,000, 36% beat holding after gas, compared with 45% before gas. The figures were 45% and 50%, respectively, for positions between $10,000 and $100,000; 51% and 55% for positions between $100,000 and $1 million; and 59% and 60% for positions above $1 million.

The percentages measure how often positions outperformed holding, rather than the total dollar return for each size group. A position can rise in value while still underperforming the deposited tokens if those tokens would have gained more during the same period.

Bitquery’s aggregate comparison included positions that remained open at the October 13 cutoff. It recorded $41.6 million in collected fees, a $60.6 million inventory shortfall relative to holding and $1.4 million in gas costs. The figures produced a combined result $20.4 million below the holding benchmark. Open positions were valued at the closing price for the study period.

The pools generated an estimated $59.5 million in total fees. The difference between that figure and the $41.6 million counted in the position analysis consisted of fees that remained unclaimed at the cutoff or could not be assigned to a specific position. Open positions were excluded from the win-rate calculations because their unclaimed fees were absent from the event-based accounting. Another 207 positions with fee claims crossing between related positions were excluded from per-position figures. Bitquery counted each transaction’s gas once and divided it among the liquidity actions.

Uniswap v4 uses flash accounting, which records amounts owed during a transaction and settles the final net balances. This can reduce repeated token transfers when a route crosses several pools or combines swaps with liquidity operations. The savings depend on the route and the number of operations. Ethereum transaction fees are paid in ETH.

V4 retains the concentrated-liquidity model used in v3. Providers select a price range for their funds. When the market price moves, the quantities of the two tokens change. If the price moves outside the range, the position stops earning swap fees and can consist entirely of one asset.

A separate Bitquery study, corrected October 15, measured liquidity activity from July 15 through October 13. Daily v4 liquidity additions rose from about 1,288 in the first week to 4,474 in the final week. V3 additions remained near 1,300 per day. V4 additions exceeded removals on 88 of 91 days, compared with 89 days for v3.

The comparison measured activity rather than matched returns because v4 and v3 record fees differently. Bitquery identified 3,074 transaction-sending wallets active on both versions. The figure counts addresses, not verified individuals. The standard position-manager route accounted for 77% of v4’s growth in addition counts.

V4 also supports hooks that can modify fees, accounting and pricing. Uniswap Labs announced on October 14 that its VolatilePair Hook had launched on Ethereum, initially for ETH/USDC. The launch occurred after Bitquery’s October 13 cutoff and was not included in the study.