The Hook Ecosystem Is Heating Up! Who Will Be the Next Dark Horse?

An increasing number of ecosystem projects built around Uniswap V4 Hooks will emerge, but projects that can build real, sustainable businesses powered by Hooks will still require time to filter and identify.

Written by KarenZ, Foresight News

In the world of DeFi, Uniswap has never lacked copycats, but recently, a wave of new projects have started building differentiated value on top of Uniswap’s foundational infrastructure.

Some of these projects are innovating on trading fee structures, some are trying to redistribute arbitrage profits, others are exploring new liquidity management models, and many aim to enable more complex execution rules for token trades.

A shared technical keyword unites all these projects: Hooks.

Hooks are not a newly launched feature from Uniswap. Back when Uniswap v4 officially went live in January 2025, Hooks were already one of the core innovations of this version. Today, as an ever-growing number of projects build on Hooks, this originally developer-focused technical concept is starting to enter the view of more crypto investors.

This article rounds up recently popular Hook ecosystem projects (this is not investment advice), covering Hookr, StonkBrokers, What The Hook, Bordrless, The Standard Reserve, Programmable, Claus and Fables Finance, to explore what developers are building with Hooks.

What Are Hooks? Adding "Custom Rules" to Uniswap Trading Pools

Put simply, Uniswap provides core trading infrastructure, while Hooks allow developers to write additional operating rules for specific trading pools.

In Uniswap v4, Hooks are external smart contracts attached to liquidity pools. They can execute custom logic before and after operations such as pool creation, liquidity addition/removal, and trades, allowing developers to design tailored rules for different markets.

For example, fees can be adjusted dynamically based on market conditions, trades can trigger rewards, and liquidity pools can be integrated with dedicated pricing or order book mechanisms.

Behind the Hype: Three Key Risks for Early-Stage Projects

Of course, compared to mature DeFi protocols, many of the currently high-profile Hook ecosystem projects are still in the product and market validation stage.

First, there is technical and smart contract risk. While Hooks can execute custom logic within the trading workflow, this also expands the scope of code that requires security audits. The fact that Uniswap v4’s core infrastructure has been developed and tested does not mean any third-party Hook automatically inherits the same level of security. Complex trading logic can also lead to unexpected execution outcomes. Custom accounting, external oracles, dynamic fees, and upgradeable permissions can all compromise the security of trades and locked liquidity.

Second, there is market liquidity and price volatility risk. Early-stage tokens often have small trading pools, meaning even small buy or sell orders can trigger significant price swings. Investors should not only track token price and market cap, but also examine real tradeable liquidity, token holder concentration, level of team allocation lockup, token minting permissions, and trading behavior of large holders.

Finally, there is the risk of disconnect between product value and token value. Even if a Hook delivers useful functionality, it does not guarantee that the project’s issued token can capture protocol revenue. Traded volume, fee generation, buyback mechanisms, or profit sharing frameworks promoted by projects all require careful due diligence.

It is particularly important to note that being deployed on Uniswap v4 does not equal official endorsement from Uniswap; using Hook technology also does not mean the project has built a sustainable business model.

Accordingly, the projects listed below are better suited for an early ecosystem watchlist, rather than as investment recommendations.

Notable Hook-Related Projects Worth Watching

Hookr

Hookr focuses on making it easier for developers and project teams to combine, deploy, and use Hooks. The platform runs on Robinhood Chain, supports new token launches, and enables the creation of new Uniswap v4 pools for existing assets. Creators can select modular Hook blocks such as dynamic fees, sniper protection, automatic token burn, and LP rewards to configure tailored rules for different pools.

Its product suite has expanded to include a Builder tool (for creating pools with Hooks or deploying custom Hooks), a Hook directory, SDK, and HookrScan (a platform for viewing Hook security and quality scores). From this perspective, Hookr’s value proposition extends beyond token launches: it aims to lower the barrier to entry for using Hooks, so traders can understand pool rules, developers can reuse modular components, and other products can integrate with these markets.

However, the more composable features offered, the more important it is to verify the specific configuration of individual pools. The project’s official website also clearly states that its contracts have undergone adversarial testing, but have not yet completed formal third-party audits.

According to data from GMGN, the current market cap of the Hookr token (HOOKR) is $26.5 million, with an all-time high market cap of $31.43 million.

StonkBrokers

StonkBrokers is a DeFi infrastructure and experimentation toolkit running on Robinhood Chain, focused on tokenized equities, Uniswap v4 Hooks, and liquidity pools.

It integrates DeFi tools with tokenized US equities on Robinhood Chain, while also offering NFT community features, a launchpad, and incubation services. The team describes its Special Projects arm as an "on-chain Y Combinator", providing early-stage projects with launch rails, liquidity, and community distribution.

On October 14 (Beijing Time), StonkBrokers leveraged Uniswap v4 Hook functionality to launch a new type of token in partnership with Hookr: the "Pair Token", a fusion-type, auto-compounding ERC-20.

The core mechanism fuses two tokens into a single new token (for example, ETH + NVDA = ETHNVDA, or NVDA + TSLA = NVDATSLA). Each Pair Token represents a proportional share of the corresponding full-range Uniswap v4 liquidity position.

This is a new primitive created using Uniswap v4 Hooks: fusing two tokens (e.g., ETH + NVDA = ETHNVDA) into an auto-compounding ERC-20 that represents a share of a full-range Uniswap v4 liquidity position. These tokens can be minted, traded, and redeemed, with fees automatically compounded (for stock tokens, this includes compounding of dividend rewards). There are no fees for minting or redeeming tokens. A 10% protocol fee is charged on collected LP fees during the compounding process, which is used to repurchase STONKBROKER tokens.

Further Reading: Can NFTs Earn Stock Tokens? What Exactly Is StonkBrokers?

NFT Floor Price Rises to 13 ETH: StonkBrokers Set to Launch Its New Launchpad

According to data from GMGN, the current market cap of STONKBROKER is $15 million, with an all-time high market cap of $95.75 million reached on August 12.

What The Hook

What The Hook (WTH) has a relatively clear product positioning: redistributing arbitrage profits across trading pools.

In AMM trading, temporary price discrepancies can emerge between different liquidity pools due to trading activity. Arbitrage traders can profit by buying and selling across these pools once they spot discrepancies, driving prices back to parity across markets.

What The Hook aims to change is not arbitrage activity itself, but rather who ultimately captures arbitrage profits.

According to its official documentation, What The Hook uses an Uniswap v4 Hook on Robinhood Chain to monitor price discrepancies between connected trading pools. When arbitrage conditions are met, and profit remains after deducting relevant execution costs, the protocol automatically executes arbitrage trades and distributes the realized gains.

Its documentation outlines two profit distribution models:

For WTH’s own trading pools: Traders receive 10% of captured arbitrage profits, while the WTH treasury receives 90%.
For third-party integrated trading pools: By default, 5% of profits are allocated to traders, 45% to liquidity providers, 40% to the WTH treasury, and 10% to referral partners.

It should be emphasized that these ratios apply only to successfully captured arbitrage profits, and distribution terms can be adjusted for specific partner deployments.

WTH’s business logic is that if more third-party trading pools integrate its Hook, the protocol can generate revenue from a larger volume of arbitrage activity. However, it faces practical limitations: arbitrage opportunities do not arise on every trade, and factors such as competitive arbitrage players, trading costs, market depth, and the total number of integrated pools all impact final returns. More importantly, revenue accruing to the WTH treasury does not equate to direct dividends for WTH token holders.

According to data from GMGN, the current market cap of WTH is $6.4 million.

Programmable (@ProgrammableHQ)

Programmable is a token and custom project launch platform built on Uniswap v4, offering no-code modular launch tools, as well as custom launch interfaces for developers. The platform currently supports the Ethereum mainnet and Robinhood Chain network.

The platform offers two core launch pathways:

The first is Module Mode: select compatible modules and configure parameters directly on the website, no need to write full custom smart contracts.

The second is Custom Launch: developers can use their own tokens, Hooks, or other supporting contracts to prepare project launches via API.

Both Programmable and Hookr are working to lower the barrier to deploying custom markets. For this type of platform, long-term competitiveness will likely depend more on module quality, integration capabilities, and real-world usage, rather than short-term launch volume.

As of the time of writing, among tokens launched via Programmable, sorted by market cap: the Claus token (introduced below) has a market cap of $6.42 million; V4, the official Programmable token on Robinhood Chain, has a current market cap of around $4.64 million; and another project, Temo, has a market cap of $450,000.

Claus

Claus (CLAUS) is an experimental project built on an Ethereum Uniswap v4 Hook. Its core feature is that after token launch, functions can be added, modified, or removed via Hook contract updates, without requiring a token re-launch. The CLAUS token was launched via Programmable.

Fables

Fables Finance is a decentralized exchange built on Uniswap v4 Hooks on Robinhood Chain. It combines the ve(3,3) token economic model with programmable trading pool mechanisms, aiming to increase flexibility in liquidity incentives and trading fee distribution.

Its core feature is using Hooks to set dynamic fees for different trading pools, adjusting trading costs based on conditions such as market volatility to improve yield structures for liquidity providers. At the same time, Fables introduces the ve(3,3) mechanism, combining token locking, governance voting, and liquidity incentives to allow participants to influence incentive allocation.

Further Reading: Fables Points Program Concludes in October: Is the "Fast, Short-Term" US Equity Market-Making Protocol Worth Participating In?

The Standard Reserve

The Standard Reserve uses Hooks for an on-chain monetary policy experiment. Its designated ETH/STANDARD trading pool tracks net ETH flow, with a "central bank" contract adjusting token supply accordingly: sustained inflows correspond to supply expansion and reserve accumulation, while outflows correspond to supply contraction, supported by a buyback and burn mechanism.

According to data from GMGN, the current market cap of the STANDARD token is $26.17 million.

Bordrless

Bordrless requires special note: it uses a self-developed Hook mechanism on Solana, rather than being built directly on Uniswap v4 Hooks.

It has built its own token standard, DEX, and launch platform on Solana, allowing developers to write custom rules for token transfers, minting, burning, and trading activities.

For example, developers can design mechanisms such as: when a token trade occurs, a portion of the amount is automatically sent to a designated account, and a portion of tokens is burned; fee rules can also be adjusted based on conditions such as holding duration and market state.

Its core vision is to enable richer programmable capabilities for tokens themselves, while supporting trading and launch activities via its integrated DEX and launchpad.

As of the time of writing, only 2 tokens launched via the Bordrless Launchpad have a market cap between $100,000 and $200,000, with all others ranging from several thousand to tens of thousands of dollars.

According to data from GMGN, the current market cap of the Bordrless token (BORDR) is $6.4 million.

Conclusion

Across these product trajectories, it is clear that Hooks are enabling trading pools to support more functions: combining launch rules, distributing arbitrage profits, managing reserves, providing governance signals, and adapting to market risks across different asset types.

Going forward, the more critical questions to watch are: Do these custom rules create real value? Are external users and projects willing to use these features consistently? And can these usage activities translate into verifiable protocol revenue?

While more projects will likely build with Hooks, only those that can build real, sustainable businesses powered by Hooks will stand the test of time, requiring ongoing filtering and evaluation.