Uniswap Foundation Awards $9M Grant to Brevis for Trustless Router Rebate System

The Uniswap Foundation has awarded a grant of up to $9 million to Brevis, a leading ZK infrastructure developer, to design and manage a Router Rebate Program, a first-of-its-kind initiative built entirely on zero-knowledge proofs.

The rebate system will allow DEX aggregators like 1inch and Matcha to receive gas rebates when routing user transactions through Uniswap v4 hooked pools. The goal is simple, to drive faster v4 adoption, deepen liquidity, and reward routers that power Uniswap’s next chapter.

From Infrastructure Provider to Ecosystem Builder

This grant marks a turning point for Brevis.

Until now, Brevis was primarily known as a ZK data coprocessor powering off-chain computation. With this move, it steps directly into the Uniswap ecosystem as a builder, deploying, managing, and maintaining the rebate system that connects ZK technology with on-chain economics.

At its core, this collaboration brings real utility to zero-knowledge proofs in DeFi, not just for privacy, but for automated economic verification.

What the $9M Grant Covers

The Uniswap Foundation’s grant will fund the development, deployment, and long-term management of the Router Rebate Program.

Here’s what that means:

•  Up to $9 million will be distributed as cashbacks to DEX routers that integrate Uniswap v4 hooked pools.
•  The rebates will be calculated and verified trustlessly using Brevis’s ZK Data Coprocessor and Pico zkVM.

The program creates a direct incentive loop, the more routing activity through v4, the more liquidity and fees for the ecosystem.

Uniswap remains the largest DEX by trading volume, maintaining over $5.6 billion in 24-hour activity. The addition of a router rebate system could further expand that dominance by improving aggregator integrations and execution speed.

How the Rebate System Works

Gas costs are a real challenge for DeFi users. Every transaction consumes gas, and tracking these costs precisely is often complex.

Here’s how Brevis changes that.

1. Routers route orders through Uniswap v4 hooked pools.
2. Brevis calculates gas costs off-chain, using its data coprocessor.
3. It then generates a zero-knowledge proof (ZK proof) verifying that the gas cost calculation is accurate.
4. The router submits this proof on-chain to claim the rebate.

The result?

A fully automated, trustless refund system. No centralized tracking. No manual auditing. No trust assumptions.

Every rebate is verified cryptographically before payment.

Why It Matters for Uniswap v4

Uniswap v4’s architecture, built around hooks and custom liquidity pools, opens the door for new automated features, but it also adds complexity for aggregators.

By introducing a rebate program, Uniswap gives routers a reason to integrate early. The more routing volume they push through v4 pools, the more rebates they earn.

This has three direct effects:

⚡ Faster v4 adoption across major DEX aggregators.

🌊 Deeper liquidity in hooked pools, as volume scales.

🔄 Better swap execution for end users, due to improved routing efficiency.

And perhaps most importantly, it does all of this without sacrificing DeFi’s trustless ethos.

Brevis’s ZK Advantage

Brevis has built a strong reputation for developing scalable ZK proof systems that can process and verify data from any on-chain or off-chain source.

Its ZK Data Coprocessor acts as a secure off-chain environment that computes heavy data operations, like gas tracking or routing cost analysis, and then generates a proof for on-chain validation.

The integration of Pico zkVM makes this process both lightweight and verifiable, meaning gas rebates can be calculated without any central servers or human intervention.

In essence, Brevis brings machine-verifiable economics to Uniswap v4.

Season 2 Activation

According to Brevis, the rebate integration is scheduled to go live in Season 2, following internal testing and protocol audits.

Season 2 will focus on testing the full pipeline, from routers submitting proofs, to automatic rebate distributions on-chain.

This marks a major milestone in how decentralized exchanges can reward routing activity. If successful, Uniswap’s rebate model could set a new standard across DeFi for trustless incentive systems.

“Tasks will focus on testing or using the trustless gas rebate system,” the Brevis team shared. “This is a significant step for both Brevis and the Uniswap ecosystem.”

The collaboration between Uniswap and Brevis represents more than just a grant, it’s a statement of direction for the next era of decentralized trading.

DeFi is evolving toward automation and verifiability, and this system combines both:

•  It automates gas rebates.
•  It verifies them trustlessly using ZK proofs.

This structure removes the need for intermediaries while maintaining economic fairness and transparency, a key goal for open finance.

As one analyst noted on X, “This isn’t just about rebates, it’s about turning proofs into incentives.”

Ecosystem Impact

The move is expected to spark stronger router competition among leading DEX aggregators like 1inch, Matcha, and ParaSwap, each aiming to capture a share of the $9M reward pool.

Routers that adapt fastest to the rebate mechanism could see immediate profit advantages, driving more users through Uniswap v4 over competitors.

In the long term, this should boost liquidity depth, reduce slippage, and increase total value locked (TVL) across v4 pools.

The Uniswap Foundation’s $9 million grant to Brevis is more than a funding announcement, it’s a blueprint for how DeFi incentives can evolve using zero-knowledge technology.

By aligning protocol economics with cryptographic trust, Uniswap is moving closer to a future where proof replaces trust in every layer of its stack.

If this rebate model succeeds, it won’t just make trading cheaper, it’ll redefine how infrastructure and incentives interact in decentralized finance.

And for Brevis, it’s a major leap, from being a ZK infrastructure provider to becoming a core builder inside the largest DEX ecosystem in crypto.

Disclosure: This is not trading or investment advice. Always do your research before buying any cryptocurrency or investing in any services.

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