CowSwap: gas-free swaps with batch settlement

Since the popularization of automated market markers (AMMs) within the DeFi space, we have witnessed unprecedented innovation in the design of decentralized exchanges (DEXs) in recent years, including swap route optimization from 1inch and other aggregators, concentrated liquidity from Uniswap v3 and Curve v2, etc. These improvements focused on optimizing trade execution for traders and enhancing capital efficiency for liquidity providers.

For an overview of DEX growth in 2021, see part 1 of the Current state of DeFi in 2021 series.