Uniswap: A Step by Step Guide on How To Use It

Uniswap is a decentralized exchange in the form of two smart contracts hosted on the Ethereum blockchain. It’s a 100% on-chain market maker allowing the swapping of ERC20 tokens, as well as ETH to an ERC20, and vice-versa.

The first thing we are going to need to start trading on Uniswap is MetaMask or any other compatible ERC20 wallet.

For the sake of this tutorial we will be using MetaMask, as it is the easiest to acquire and the one compatible with most dApps.

Step 1:

Go to https://app.uniswap.org

Step 2:

Here we will click on the connect wallet button, whichever you may prefer.

Step 3:

Now a popup will be triggered, asking us to select a compatible wallet.
In this case we will go with MetaMask

Step 4:

A notification will be prompt in MetaMask asking us to confirm we want to connect with Uniswap, we are going to click next, and connect.

Step 5:

That’s it. Now we’re connected to Uniswap and able to swap tokens or Ethereum.
For this, we only have to click on the ticker to select tokens officially listed on Uniswap or add the contract address from the token we want to trade.

For this example, let’s say we have some PLT (an imported token) and want to swap it to ETH.
The corresponding price, fees, and other details are listed below.

Step 6:

Once we have the details ready to go, we will click on the swap button, and confirm swap.

Step 7:

A notification will popup from MetaMask asking us to confirm the transaction, here will be shown the gas used to complete the trade. Once you are ready, click confirm and the system will work its magic.

Within a few minutes you should have the tokens you purchased directly in your wallet.

The more tech-savvy folks could try to mess with other settings like slippage and gas output, but for beginners, this guide will teach you how to swap ERC20 Tokens and Ethereum easily.