Aerodrome and Velodrome Merge, Aero Launches on 7 Chains

AERO and VELO move into one token

The official upgrade hub lists a one-for-one conversion for existing AERO. Each VELO converts into 0.044 new AERO. For example, 1,000 VELO corresponds to 44 AERO under the published rate; it does not promise the same dollar value before and after conversion.

The new supply is allocated 94.5% to the Aerodrome community and 5.5% to Velodrome. The launch announcement says this reflects their shares of combined revenue during the 52 weeks before the merger was announced, rather than an equal split between the two brands.

The team says the upgraded supply goes to existing holders without a new token sale or venture-capital allocation. That distribution statement does not mean future token emissions disappear. Rewards to liquidity providers remain part of the new economy.

Self-custody holders must initiate an upgrade; tokens do not automatically change inside a personal wallet. The hub says the conversion cannot be reversed and has no fixed deadline, although legacy interfaces may eventually close. Exchange customers follow their venue’s timetable.

The staked positions previously called veAERO and veVELO become sAERO. This changes how holders coordinate rewards and receive revenue, but should not be confused with permission to exit an existing lock early.

Liquidity providers have a separate migration task. Existing deposits do not move automatically, and the hub says some old pools will lack a matching destination at launch. Where a comparable pool is unavailable, withdrawal and a new deposit may be required. Keeping an old position open therefore differs from participating in the new reward system, even if the underlying token pair remains tradable on a legacy exchange.

Aero replaces weekly votes with continuous rewards

The merger also changes the exchange’s operating model. Aero’s Predictive Allocation explanation describes replacing weekly reward votes with allocations that stream to pools while the associated exchange revenue accrues to participating stakers.

Liquidity providers deposit assets that other users trade against. Token operators choose which markets receive AERO rewards. Their return depends on the revenue produced by the pools they support, making the location of liquidity part of the economic decision.

The production release follows a September 25 launch update that fixed the October date and confirmed Robinhood Chain and Arbitrum among the seven networks. The fresh development is the exchange opening and migration, following earlier preparation and partner coordination.

Under the current economics description, revenue follows active allocations instead of waiting for a weekly distribution cycle. A staker can therefore gain exposure to a pool’s earnings without being the person supplying its trading inventory. Neither role carries a guaranteed return.

The change addresses a familiar problem: rewards can follow yesterday’s busiest pool while demand has moved elsewhere. More frequent allocation could reduce that lag. Whether it does so depends on how participants allocate and how much executable liquidity follows them.

That distinction also runs through Dune’s earlier study of idle DeFi liquidity. Assets sitting in a pool are not necessarily available near the prices where trades occur. A larger combined network alone cannot demonstrate better execution.

The launch post also says rewards are calculated in dollar terms, with pool caps tied to projected revenue. Rewards withheld by a cap are never minted. These controls describe how emissions are constrained, rather than fixing the future circulating supply or eliminating inflation.

Aero’s Slipstream design uses concentrated liquidity, where providers choose a price range, and dynamic fees that adjust to market conditions. Its stated approach rewards active-range liquidity and records pool activity onchain, allowing realized fees and volume to be examined after launch.

The team’s Metaswaps description adds cross-chain routing through onchain pools in one interface. That could reduce the steps involved in moving between supported markets. It does not establish that every route has equal depth, identical costs or immediate execution under all conditions.

The expansion also reaches networks already developing new trading infrastructure, including Uniswap’s deployment on Robinhood Chain. The competition is over usable markets and trading flow, rather than the number of chains listed on a launch page.

Binance sets a separate November migration schedule

Binance’s merger notice, updated October 20, schedules removal of VELODROME spot trading pairs for November 3 at 03:00 UTC. Existing AERO spot pairs remain tradable under the announcement.

At 03:30 UTC that day, the exchange plans to suspend VELODROME and old AERO deposits and withdrawals. It says it will handle the technical conversion and separately announce when new AERO deposits and withdrawals reopen.

Derivatives users face an earlier event. Binance schedules automatic settlement of its VELODROMEUSDT perpetual contract for October 28 at 09:00 UTC, following a restriction on new positions from 08:30 UTC. A spot-token conversion is therefore separate from the treatment of an open futures position.

The broader mood remained positive in Alternative.me’s Bitcoin-focused Fear & Greed Index: 68 for October 22, versus 63 a day earlier. Both readings indicated Greed and do not measure Aero adoption.

Source: Alternative.me, checked October 22.

As of 09:07 UTC, the reviewed dashboard did not isolate post-launch migration totals or new-protocol trading volume. The hub scheduled Autopilot’s first allocation for 16:00 UTC Thursday. Actual migrated liquidity, realized pool revenue and exchange reopening notices are the next evidence needed to assess the rollout.