What is an AMM?
An Automated Market Maker (AMM) is the smart contract algorithm that replaces traditional order-book matching with formula-based pricing on decentralised exchanges. AMMs use liquidity pools and a pricing function (bonding curve) to quote prices and settle trades automatically. AMMs unlocked the first wave of DeFi liquidity (Uniswap launched 2018) and remain the dominant DEX architecture.
AMM formula families
- Constant product (x·y=k): Uniswap v2; symmetric pairs; high slippage for large trades.
- Constant sum (x+y=k): stablecoin pairs; zero slippage in equilibrium but vulnerable to depletion.
- StableSwap (Curve): hybrid of constant sum + product; optimised for low-slippage stable-stable trades.
- Weighted pools (Balancer): N tokens at custom weights; functions as on-chain index fund.
- Concentrated liquidity (Uniswap v3): LPs choose price ranges; capital efficiency 100-4000x v2 baseline.
AMM vs. order book
- AMM: always-on liquidity, passive LP participation, predictable algorithmic prices, but capital-inefficient at scale.
- Order book (CLOB): tighter spreads, professional MM activity, but requires deep liquidity and active market making.
- Hybrid models: dYdX, GMX, Hyperliquid — order book on-chain or off-chain with on-chain settlement.
Türk DeFi katılımı
AMM’ler Türk kullanıcılar için en yaygın DEX deneyimidir (Uniswap, PancakeSwap, Trader Joe). MASAK ve SPK düzenlemeleri DEX/AMM kullanımını doğrudan kısıtlamaz ancak fiat-on/off-ramp adımları MASAK Travel Rule kapsamındadır. Wallet doğrudan etkileşimi (non-custodial AMM kullanımı) regulatory perimeter dışındadır ancak gelir vergisi rejimi belirsizdir.
Do: use audited AMMs (Uniswap, Curve, Balancer); compare execution prices across DEX aggregators (1inch, ParaSwap); monitor MEV-aware routers.
Don’t: approve unlimited token spend without limits; revoke unused approvals via etherscan.io/tokenapprovalchecker.
AMMs and the service-provider perimeter
AMMs sharpen the recurring DeFi question: where is the service provider? A pure smart-contract protocol resists classification, but the surrounding stack — front-ends, routing services, liquidity programs, token issuers — is where regulation lands: MiCA reaches CASP-like activities around DeFi, and Türkiye’s 7518 regime licenses platforms whose interfaces give Turkish users access to trading. For teams building AMM-adjacent products the analysis runs interface by interface: who operates the front-end, who profits from fees, who controls upgrades (admin keys convert “decentralised” into “operated”). Impermanent-loss disclosures and LP-token marketing also sit under ordinary financial-promotion logic — describing pooled positions as “passive yield” is the claim regulators quote back.