KETJU Research

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Liquidity pool

SMARDEX AMM

Not approved Liquidity pools are outside the approved structures
Issued
2026-08-16
Last confirmed
2026-08-16
Next check due
2026-11-15
Chains
Ethereum · No freeze key, Base · Mixed control, Polygon PoS · Mixed control, Arbitrum One · Mixed control, BNB Smart Chain · Issuer can freeze

SMARDEX is a decentralized exchange on Ethereum, Arbitrum, and Base whose pitch is an algorithm that reduces impermanent loss for liquidity providers. The pitch concedes the point: the deposits are token pairs that reprice against each other as the market moves, and a mechanism that softens that exposure does not remove it. We reject the AMM category for advised money on that mechanism, however it is tuned. DefiLlama measured $138,132 of AMM TVL across five chains on 2026-08-16, excluding separately reported staking. The file reopens only for a product without paired-liquidity exposure.

The research file

Mechanism applicability

SMARDEX remains a paired-asset AMM. Depositors contribute two assets, receive LP tokens, and are paid from swap fees and optional farming while pool inventories move with trades. Its fictive-reserve algorithm changes price and reserve accounting and may reduce or reverse relative underperformance in some paths; it does not turn the position into a single-asset claim.

Control and loss applicability

Factories, routers, pairs and farming contracts are deployed separately on each measured chain. Published Paladin and Trail of Bits reviews cover AMM accounting and contract logic, but an audit does not remove inventory divergence, smart-contract, token, or chain risk. LP outcomes remain path-dependent even when the protocol describes impermanent gain.

Exit applicability

An LP exits by burning its pool claim for the then-current reserve mix, not by redeeming a principal-guaranteed asset. Available depth, token transferability, pool imbalance, and transaction execution determine realizable proceeds; farming adds an unstake step but does not alter the underlying paired-liquidity exposure.

Why the dossier still applies

DefiLlama measured $138,132 of AMM TVL across Ethereum, Base, Polygon, Arbitrum and Binance on 2026-08-16. Size is not the deciding rule: the observable product remains direct AMM LP exposure. Reopen only if SMARDEX launches a separately accounted product without paired inventory, then document its loss, control and stressed-exit mechanics independently.

Class rule

The amm lp class is outside the approved structures, so every protocol in it is not approved until the rule changes. The rule is about the structure, not an adverse finding about this protocol, and it is not a client instruction. The events that would reopen it are listed with the memo.

Sources

The claims above trace to these. Where a number could not be independently verified, the thesis says so.

Inherited controls

The research above describes the protocol layer. Every position also inherits the asset it holds and the chain it settles on. The layer with the most administrative power sets the position’s effective control; that describes control, not quality or suitability.

ChainVerdictControlControl constraint
EthereumApproved No freeze key No sequencer, no upgrade key, no operator who can be compelled. Rule changes require social consensus.
BaseApproved with limits Mixed control Coinbase, one regulated US company, operates the only sequencer, and admin keys can upgrade bridge contracts within ~7 days.
Polygon PoSRejected Mixed control a public validator set orders transactions, but a 5-of-9 multisig can instantly upgrade staking and canonical bridge contracts, while a 5-of-8 controls custom child tokens.
Arbitrum OneApproved with limits Mixed control a single sequencer orders >99% of transactions and admin keys can upgrade bridge contracts on a ~7-day timelock.
BNB Smart ChainRejected Issuer can freeze the validator set concentrates around one company, and the chain has been halted by decision.
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