A smart contract holding reserves of two or more tokens that traders swap against, priced by a formula instead of an order book.
Last verified 13 September 2026 · written by the DexLadder team
What it means
A smart contract holding reserves of two or more tokens that traders swap against, priced by a formula instead of an order book.
Why it matters when you trade
A pool replaces market makers with arithmetic and inventory. Anyone can deposit and earn a share of the fees, and anyone can trade at a price determined purely by the reserves. The trade-off is that the pool has no opinion: it will sell a rising asset all the way up and buy a falling one all the way down, which is exactly what impermanent loss measures.
Worked example
A pool with 100 ETH and 300,000 USDC quotes 3,000 per ETH. Every swap changes the reserves and therefore the price, with no counterparty needed.
See it on live markets
DexLadder runs liquidity pool against live market and pool data, with simulated capital, so you can watch it act on an order instead of reading about it — no account, no wallet, nothing installed.