Table of Contents
- TL;DR
- V2: Lower Efficiency, but Simpler Liquidity
- Does concentrated liquidity actually make a DEX more efficient?
- V3: Smaller TVL, Much Harder-Working Liquidity
- Trading volume turned over 17× faster in Algebra-powered pools
- QuickSwap V3 ranks #2 on Polygon for fee efficiency
- What's Algebra's Role Here?
- QuickSwap V4: the first results from Algebra Integral
- What DEX Builders Can Learn
- Verdict: Algebra’s capital-efficiency thesis holds
- FAQ
- What is Algebra?
- What is Algebra Integral?
- How is QuickSwap powered by Algebra?
- Does concentrated liquidity improve capital efficiency?
- What is the difference between QuickSwap V2, V3, and V4?
- Can existing DEXs integrate Algebra Integral?
Do not index
TL;DR
- Its legacy V2 AMM still holds most of the liquidity and generates the highest absolute revenue.
- Its Algebra-powered V3 generates 4.1× higher Fees/TVL and 17× higher Volume/TVL, making it dramatically more capital-efficient.
- The two architectures solve different problems: V2 maximizes accessible liquidity, while concentrated liquidity maximizes productivity.
- As Algebra Integral rolls out, QuickSwap now operates V2, V3, and V4-style infrastructure side by side.
QuickSwap Today: Three Different Liquidity Engines
Instead of replacing older infrastructure, QuickSwap has gradually expanded it.
Today the protocol includes:
Architecture | Purpose |
Traditional V2 constant-product AMM | |
Algebra concentrated liquidity | |
Algebra Integral’s modular CLAMM |
Each serves different users and different liquidity profiles.
V2: Lower Efficiency, but Simpler Liquidity
QuickSwap’s legacy V2 AMM remains the protocol’s largest liquidity base. Its full-range model is less capital-efficient because liquidity is distributed across the entire price curve, including prices where little or no trading occurs.
However, V2 liquidity is also simpler to provide. LPs do not need to select price ranges or actively rebalance positions, reducing the operational complexity and out-of-range risk associated with concentrated liquidity.
Does concentrated liquidity actually make a DEX more efficient?
Concentrated liquidity promises to make every dollar of TVL work harder by placing liquidity around the active market price instead of across the entire price curve.
QuickSwap provides a rare real-world comparison. On Polygon, it operates both a traditional V2 AMM and an Algebra-powered concentrated liquidity DEX under the same brand and on the same chain. The primary difference is the AMM engine, making it one of the cleanest production comparisons available.
This creates a straightforward question:
Can Algebra-powered concentrated liquidity generate more trading activity and fees per dollar of TVL than a standard full-range AMM?
V3: Smaller TVL, Much Harder-Working Liquidity
According to DefiLlama, QuickSwap V3 generates more economic activity from every dollar of liquidity. Although QuickSwap V3 operates with approximately $3.4 million in TVL compared with $261.4 million in V2 (i.e QuickSwap DEX), its liquidity is substantially more productive.
Over the trailing 12 full months:
Metric | QuickSwap V3 | QuickSwap DEX |
Average Fees/TVL | 2.41% | 0.59% |
Average Volume/TVL | 4,146% | 244% |
QuickSwap V3 generated approximately:
- 4.1× more fees per dollar of TVL
- 17× more trading volume per dollar of TVL
Unlike a full-range AMM, where much of the liquidity sits at inactive prices, concentrated liquidity keeps capital where trading occurs. The result is significantly higher capital productivity from a much smaller liquidity base.
QuickSwap V3 (Algebra) vs QuickSwap Dex (V2) — Monthly Fees/TVL, Polygon-only
Trading volume turned over 17× faster in Algebra-powered pools
The difference becomes even more pronounced when comparing trading volume relative to liquidity.
QuickSwap V3 generated an average monthly Volume/TVL ratio of approximately 4,146%. In other words, its liquidity base notionally turned over around 41 times per month.
QuickSwap Dex averaged approximately 244%, or roughly 2.4 times its TVL per month.
QuickSwap deployment | Average monthly Volume/TVL |
QuickSwap V3, powered by Algebra | 4,146% |
QuickSwap Dex, V2 AMM | 244% |
That represents a roughly 17× advantage for QuickSwap V3.
This is not financial leverage. It reflects the capital efficiency of concentrated liquidity: a relatively small amount of TVL supports disproportionately high trading volume.
Unlike a full-range V2 AMM, where much of the liquidity sits at inactive prices, a CLAMM concentrates capital around the market price. As a result, QuickSwap V3 consistently processed several multiples of its TVL each month, while the V2 deployment generated far less activity relative to its capital base.
QuickSwap V3 (Algebra) vs QuickSwap Dex (V2) — Monthly Volume/TVL Turnover
QuickSwap V3 ranks #2 on Polygon for fee efficiency
The QuickSwap comparison becomes more meaningful when placed against Polygon’s broader DEX market.
Based on trailing 30-day Fees/TVL, QuickSwap V3 ranked second among the major tracked Polygon DEX deployments.
Rank | DEX | 30d Fees/TVL | 30d Volume/TVL | TVL |
1 | Uniswap V3 | 3.07% | 25.6× | $25.2M |
2 | QuickSwap V3, powered by Algebra | 1.75% | 47.9× | $3.4M |
3 | Uniswap V4 | 1.38% | 74.9× | $21.4M |
4 | Balancer V2 | 1.17% | 16.1× | $4.1M |
5 | Ramses CL V2 | 0.68% | 458.7× | $1.1M |
6 | QuickSwap Dex | 0.48% | 1.5× | $261.4M |
7 | Curve DEX | 0.28% | 3.8× | $5.5M |
8 | SushiSwap | 0.06% | 0.2× | $6.2M |
30-day Volume/TVL ratios. They tell you how many times the liquidity (TVL) turned over in trading volume during the last 30 days.
QuickSwap V3 was outperformed only by Uniswap V3, another concentrated liquidity architecture.
Meanwhile, QuickSwap DEX still produces more absolute fees than any competitor: 47.9× on QuickSwap versus 25.6× on Uniswap.
QuickSwap DEX ranked sixth despite having by far the largest liquidity base in the comparison.
The result reinforces a broader point for DEX builders: large TVL does not automatically mean productive TVL.
What's Algebra's Role Here?
QuickSwap has partnered with Algebra since 2022, when it became the first DEX to adopt Algebra's concentrated liquidity infrastructure. Algebra is an exchange infrastructure provider: instead of building a consumer-facing DEX, it develops and maintains the AMM technology that powers decentralized exchanges. Partners integrate Algebra as their exchange engine while retaining their own brand, frontend, governance, and ecosystem. Today, Algebra powers over 100 DEXs across 32+ EVM networks, including QuickSwap.
What Is Algebra Integral, tho?
Algebra Integral is Algebra's latest modular AMM infrastructure. It combines a stable concentrated liquidity Core with programmable Plugins that add features such as Dynamic Fees, ALM, oracle pricing, compliance, and security. Think Uniswap V4 with hooks, but accessible to DEXs since 2023. Unlike traditional AMMs, new functionality can be introduced without redeploying pools or migrating liquidity, allowing exchanges like QuickSwap to continuously evolve while keeping existing markets live.
QuickSwap V4: the first results from Algebra Integral
QuickSwap's newer V4 deployment runs on Algebra Integral, Algebra's modular concentrated liquidity infrastructure.
Although the Polygon deployment is still too new for a like-for-like comparison, existing cross-chain data already shows stronger efficiency than the legacy V2 model.
Architecture | Data scope | Avg Fees/TVL | Avg Volume/TVL |
QuickSwap DEX V2 | Polygon | 0.58% | 243% |
QuickSwap V4 / Integral | Multiple chains | 1.10% | 1,044% |
QuickSwap V3 / Algebra | Polygon | 2.40% | 4,135% |
Integral pools are newer and operate across multiple chains, making direct comparisons with Polygon V3 inappropriate. Even so, they already outperform the legacy V2 architecture on both capital-efficiency metrics.
Capital Efficiency: QuickSwap V2 vs Algebra Integral V4 vs Algebra V3
What DEX Builders Can Learn
QuickSwap demonstrates that there isn't a single "best" AMM.
Different architectures optimize for different goals.
Architecture | Strength |
V2 | Simplicity & liquidity depth |
V3 | Capital efficiency |
Integral | Capital efficiency + modularity |
The takeaway isn't that V2 is obsolete.
It's that AMM architecture determines how productive your TVL becomes.
Verdict: Algebra’s capital-efficiency thesis holds
QuickSwap's success on Polygon comes from operating multiple liquidity models simultaneously.
Its V2 deployment remains one of Polygon's largest liquidity venues.
Its Algebra-powered V3 is among Polygon's most efficient.
Its Integral deployment represents the next stage of modular DEX infrastructure.
Together, they provide one of the clearest production case studies of how concentrated liquidity changes the economics of decentralized exchanges.
FAQ
What is Algebra?
Algebra is an exchange infrastructure provider that develops the AMM technology powering decentralized exchanges. Rather than operating a consumer-facing DEX, Algebra provides modular exchange infrastructure that partners such as QuickSwap integrate while retaining their own brand, governance, and ecosystem.
What is Algebra Integral?
Algebra Integral is Algebra's modular concentrated liquidity infrastructure for decentralized exchanges. It combines a stable AMM Core with programmable Plugins that enable features such as Dynamic Fees, Automated Liquidity Management (ALM), oracle pricing, compliance, and security without requiring liquidity migration.
How is QuickSwap powered by Algebra?
QuickSwap partnered with Algebra in 2022 to adopt concentrated liquidity on Polygon. Since then, Algebra has served as QuickSwap's exchange infrastructure partner, developing and maintaining the underlying AMM technology while QuickSwap focuses on the protocol, community, and ecosystem growth.
Does concentrated liquidity improve capital efficiency?
This case study suggests it does. Over the trailing 12 months, QuickSwap's Algebra-powered V3 generated 4.1× more fees per dollar of TVL and 17× more trading volume per dollar of TVL than QuickSwap's legacy V2 deployment on Polygon.
What is the difference between QuickSwap V2, V3, and V4?
QuickSwap V2 uses a traditional constant-product AMM, V3 runs on Algebra's concentrated liquidity infrastructure, and V4 is built on Algebra Integral's modular architecture. V2 prioritizes simplicity, V3 focuses on capital efficiency, and Integral combines concentrated liquidity with upgradeable Plugins for additional functionality.
Can existing DEXs integrate Algebra Integral?
Yes. Algebra Integral is designed for blockchain ecosystems and DEX operators that want to launch or upgrade an exchange. Partners integrate Algebra as the underlying exchange engine while maintaining their own frontend, governance, tokenomics, and brand. The modular Plugin architecture also allows new functionality to be introduced without redeploying pools or migrating liquidity.
