Aztec Raises $59M From 17,000 Bidders via Uniswap (UNI)'s New Auction Mechanism
Peter Zhang Feb 12, 2026 05:22
Privacy-focused L2 Aztec used Uniswap (UNI)'s Continuous Clearing Auctions for its token sale, attracting participants from 191 countries with 96% contributing under $10K.
Aztec's token sale pulled in $59 million from roughly 17,000 verified bidders across 191 countries using Uniswap (UNI)'s Continuous Clearing Auctions—a mechanism that may signal a shift away from the insider-friendly token launches that have plagued crypto for years.
The privacy-focused Ethereum Layer 2 ran its sale in November 2025 ahead of its Token Generation Event, which concluded on February 11, 2026. The results suggest genuine retail participation: 96% of bidders contributed under $10,000, with the mean contribution sitting around $4,000. Nearly a third of the total token supply landed in wallets holding under $100,000.
How the Auction Actually Worked
Traditional token sales reward speed and connections. Fixed prices get snapped up by bots. Offchain allocations go to VCs and their friends. CCA flips this by spreading each bid across all remaining auction blocks and determining clearing price based on aggregate demand rather than who clicked fastest.
Bidders set a budget and maximum price per token. As blocks cleared, participants received tokens if their price remained competitive. Everyone paid the same clearing price—no preferential treatment for early birds or gas warriors.
The mechanics discouraged the usual gaming. Aztec reported no clear instances of sniping or automated price manipulation in the onchain data. The sale cleared at 60% above Aztec's floor price, suggesting actual price discovery rather than artificial pumping.
Why This Matters for Token Launches
The crypto industry has a token launch problem. ICO-era fixed prices created instant arbitrage for insiders. Recent launchpad models still favor those with platform tokens or VC relationships. Aztec's approach—running everything onchain through multiple frontends including CoinList and their own interface—at least attempts to level the playing field.
Participants verified identity through ZKPassport within Predicate, adding a compliance layer without sacrificing the permissionless ethos. The geographic spread (191 countries) suggests the mechanism can handle global retail demand.
What Comes Next
Uniswap is positioning CCA as infrastructure beyond one-off token sales. Projects can customize supply schedules, configure post-auction liquidity strategies, and integrate validation hooks. The pitch: bootstrap liquidity and establish reference prices before tokens hit secondary markets.
For Aztec specifically, the network now enters its operational phase as the first decentralized privacy-preserving L2 on Ethereum. The protocol uses zero-knowledge proofs to enable confidential transactions and private smart contract state—functionality that distinguishes it from the crowded L2 field focused purely on scaling.
Whether CCA becomes the standard for fair launches depends on whether other projects value broad distribution over quick capital raises from a handful of large checks. Aztec's numbers suggest there's meaningful retail appetite when the mechanism actually allows participation.
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