ngaro kāore i te mau Whakamārama
Understand impermanent loss in DeFi liquidity pools: the math, a worked example, and the strategies that reduce it.
He aha te Ngaro Kore-Mōrearea?
Impermanent loss is the difference in value between holding tokens in a liquidity pool and simply holding them in your wallet. It occurs whenever the price ratio of the two tokens in a pool changes from the ratio at the time you deposited. The greater the price divergence, the larger the impermanent loss.
When you provide liquidity to an automated market maker (AMM) such as Uniswap or Balancer, you deposit two tokens in a set ratio. The AMM prices trades with a formula (typically x * y = k). As market prices change, arbitrageurs trade against the pool until its internal price matches the market. This rebalancing causes impermanent loss: the pool sells your rising token and buys more of the falling one.
The word "impermanent" matters. The loss exists only on paper while your liquidity stays in the pool. If both token prices return to their original ratio, the impermanent loss disappears. If you withdraw while the price ratio differs from your entry, the loss is realized and becomes permanent.
Impermanent loss is not a loss of your deposited capital in absolute terms. You always get back your proportional share of the pool. The "loss" is relative: you end up with fewer dollars than you would have by doing nothing and holding the original tokens in your wallet.
Rerekētanga o te utu
Ka piki te IL i te wā e rerekē ana te ōrau utu i tō wā whakaurunga. Kāore te aronga e whai tikanga; he pikinga 2x me te hekenga 50% ka whakaputa i te IL kotahi.
Ka taea te whakahuri tae noa ki te tango
Ko te ngaro "kaore i te roa" nā te mea ka hurihia mēnā ka hoki ngā utu ki te ōrau taketake. Ka noho pūmau anake i te wā ka tango koe.
Whakakāhore mā ngā Utu
Ka taea e ngā utu tauhokohoko whiwhi e ngā LPs te whakakāhore, ā, ka taea anō te hipa atu i te ngaro kaore i te roa, ā, ka whai hua te tūnga i te katoa.
Me pēhea te Mahi o te Ngaro Kaore i te Roa
Here is a worked example using an ETH/USDC liquidity pool on a standard constant-product AMM (such as Uniswap v2). The prices are illustrative, chosen for easy arithmetic.
Pūriro Tuatahi
You deposit 1 ETH and 2,000 USDC into an ETH/USDC pool when ETH is trading at $2,000. Your total deposit is worth $4,000 (1 ETH at $2,000 + 2,000 USDC). The AMM sets the constant product: k = 1 * 2,000 = 2,000.
Mēnā ka mau noa koe i ēnei tohu i tō pūkete, ka mau tonu koe i te 1 ETH + 2,000 USDC ahakoa ngā mea ka pā ki te utu ETH. Ko tēnei āhuatanga "hold" te pae tawhiti e ine ai te ngaro kāore i te roa.
Panoni Utu: ETH Ka Rua ki $4,000
Ka piki te ETH i te $2,000 ki te $4,000 i ngā mākete o waho. Ka kite ngā kaihoko arbitrage i te utu ā-roto o te pūreke he tawhito, ā, ka hoko ETH rahi i te pūreke, ka tuku USDC kia tae te utu o te pūreke ki te mākete. Nā te ture hua pūmau (x * y = k), ka whakahou te pūreke i ōna tōpūtanga.
After rebalancing, your share of the pool now contains approximately 0.707 ETH and 2,828 USDC. The math: at the new price, ETH in pool = sqrt(k / new_price) = sqrt(2000 / 4000) = 0.707, and USDC in pool = sqrt(k * new_price) = sqrt(2000 * 4000) = 2,828.
Your pool position is now worth: 0.707 * $4,000 + $2,828 = $5,656.
Whakataurite LP ki te Pupuri
If you had simply held your original 1 ETH + 2,000 USDC, your portfolio would be worth: 1 * $4,000 + $2,000 = $6,000.
The difference: $6,000 - $5,656 = $344. That is your impermanent loss, equal to 5.72% of the hold value (the Uniswap documentation rounds this to 5.7%). You still gained compared with your initial $4,000 deposit (a $1,656 gain), but you made $344 less than by simply holding.
This is the core insight: the AMM sold your ETH on the way up. As ETH rose, the pool gradually converted part of your ETH into USDC, so you missed part of the upside of holding ETH.
Huanga kore puna wē
Earn 7.50% APY on USDC with Coinstancy Dollar Savings. Interest accrues every second and is automatically reinvested. No lock-up, withdraw anytime.
Kaipūtirotiro Ngaro Kore-ā-roto
The formula for impermanent loss in a standard 50/50 constant-product pool, as given in the Uniswap documentation, is: IL = 2 * sqrt(r) / (1 + r) - 1, where r is the price ratio (new price / original price). This table shows the result for common price movements.
| Nekehanga Utu | Ōwehenga Utu (r) | Ngaro Wā Poto | Tauira (ETH i $2,000) |
|---|---|---|---|
| +10% pikinga utu | 1.10 | -0.11% | ETH i $2,200 |
| +25% pikinga utu | 1.25 | -0.60% | ETH i $2,500 |
| +50% pikinga utu | 1.50 | -2.02% | ETH i $3,000 |
| +100% pikinga utu (2x) | 2.00 | -5.72% | ETH i $4,000 |
| +200% te pikinga o te utu (3x) | 3.00 | -13.40% | ETH i $6,000 |
| +500% te pikinga o te utu (6x) | 6.00 | -30.00% | ETH i $12,000 |
| -50% te hekenga o te utu | 0.50 | -5.72% | ETH i $1,000 |
| -75% te hekenga o te utu | 0.25 | -20.00% | ETH i $500 |
Kupu matua
A 2x price increase and a 50% price decrease produce the same impermanent loss (5.72%). IL depends only on the size of the price ratio change, not its direction. IL also accelerates: doubling the price costs 5.72%, but tripling it costs 13.40%, more than twice as much. This non-linear relationship means IL grows disproportionately on extreme price moves.
Āhea ka noho pūmau te IL?
Impermanent loss becomes a realized, permanent loss the moment you withdraw your liquidity at a different price ratio than when you deposited. Until then, the loss exists only on paper. Deciding when to withdraw is one of the most important choices a liquidity provider (LP) makes.
He mea nui te wā o te tango
If ETH moves from $2,000 to $4,000, your IL is 5.72%. If ETH later drops back to $2,000, your IL returns to zero. The worst time to withdraw is at the point of maximum price divergence. Many LPs set price alerts and withdraw only when the ratio is favourable, or when accumulated fees clearly exceed the IL.
In volatile markets, prices can swing sharply within hours. A position showing 10% IL today might show 2% tomorrow. Waiting is often a reasonable option, as long as you are comfortable holding both tokens.
Kohinga utu ki te IL
Every swap through your pool generates fees for you. On Uniswap v2, LPs earn 0.30% of every trade, per the Uniswap documentation. On Uniswap v3, the standard fee tiers are 0.05%, 0.30% and 1%, and governance can add others (a 0.01% tier exists for stable pairs). On v2, fees accumulate inside the pool and compound into your position.
The critical question is whether cumulative fees exceed the IL. Fee income depends on trading volume relative to the pool's liquidity. As an illustration, a pool with $10M in liquidity and $10M of daily volume at a 0.30% fee generates $30,000 a day for LPs, or 0.3% of the pool per day. Over weeks, that can offset a meaningful IL. Live volume and fee data for each pool are on DefiLlama (see Sources).
Ina ka mau tonu te IL
IL can become effectively permanent even without withdrawing: if one token in the pool goes to zero (rug pull, protocol failure), or if a token permanently loses its peg (as happened with the algorithmic stablecoin UST in May 2022). In these cases, the AMM has rebalanced your position almost entirely into the failing token, and no recovery is possible. This is why choosing established token pairs matters so much for LPs.
Ngā Rautanga hei Whakaiti i te Ngaro Kāore i te Mau
Kāore e taea te whakakore katoa i te mate kore-pūmau i roto i tētahi AMM paerewa, engari he maha ngā rautaki hei whakaiti i tōna pānga ki ō hua.
1. Ngā Tahi Moni Pūtete
Ko te whakarato pūngao ki ngā puna e noho ana ngā tohu e rua he moni pūmau (hei tauira USDC/USDT, USDC/DAI rānei) ka noho tata ki te kore te mate kore-pūmau. E whai ana ngā tohu e rua ki te $1, nō reira ka noho tata te ōwehenga utu ki te 1:1 i te wā e mau ana ngā mea e rua ki tō rāua here. Kātahi ka tata noa te utu hei hua māori, engari he tūponotanga tūturu tonu te wehenga o tētahi o ngā tohu.
The trade-off is a lower APY. Stablecoin pools usually earn less in fees because they use the lowest fee tiers and attract less arbitrage. Compare live pool yields on DefiLlama rather than relying on a fixed figure.
2. Ngā Tāpae Taonga Honohono
He iti ake te IL o ngā puna e neke tahi ana ō rāua tohu i ō ngā takirua kāore e whai pānga. Ko ētahi tauira ko stETH/ETH (Lido staked ETH ki ETH), WBTC/tBTC (e rua ngā momo tohu o Bitcoin), rETH/ETH rānei (Rocket Pool ETH ki ETH). Ina whai ana ngā rawa e rua i te utu tūturu kotahi, he iti te wehewehenga.
Similarly, ETH/BTC pools tend to have lower IL than ETH/USDC pools because ETH and BTC prices have historically been positively correlated. When crypto markets rally, both tend to rise together, which keeps the price ratio more stable. Correlation can break down, so this is a reduction, not a removal, of IL.
3. Ngā Waiwai Tūturu
Uniswap v3 and similar protocols let LPs concentrate liquidity within a chosen price range. A narrower range earns more fees per dollar deployed because your liquidity is used more intensively. The downside: per the Uniswap documentation, once the price leaves your range the position stops earning fees, and it is then held entirely in one token (the one that fell in relative value).
To limit IL, use wider ranges on volatile pairs and tighter ranges on stable pairs. A USDC/USDT position with a 0.99-1.01 range captures nearly all trading volume with very little IL risk. An ETH/USDC position might use a wide range around the current price to balance fee efficiency against the risk of going out of range.
4. Ngā Tāke Kotahi-Taha
Some protocols allow single-sided liquidity provision, where you deposit only one token. Bancor v3, THORChain and some Balancer pools support this. Single-sided deposits change your exposure because you are not forced to hold a 50/50 balance. However, the protocol usually still exposes you to IL internally by pairing your deposit against protocol-owned liquidity, and that IL shows up in your withdrawal value.
Whiwhi 7.50% APY i runga i te USDC
He hua i runga i te tuku moni, ehara i te puna wai, nō reira kāore he mate taupua. Kāore he raka. Ka puta te huamoni ia hēkona, ā, ka whakamahi anō aunoa. Ka taea te tango i ngā wā katoa.
Ngā Hātepe Tiaki IL
Several DeFi protocols have designed mechanisms to shield liquidity providers from impermanent loss. Each takes a different approach, and none removes the risk completely.
Tiaki IL ā‑kāhua Bancor
I whakauru a Bancor i te whakamarutanga IL taumata-kawa: i whakaae te kawa ki te utu i te ngaronga noho noa mā te tā i tana ake tohu (BNT). I raro i a Bancor v2.1, i piki haere te whakamarutanga i roto i te wā, ā, ka eke ki te kapinga katoa i muri i te 100 rā. Mēnā i tangohia e koe me te IL, ka tā a Bancor i te BNT hei utu i te rerekētanga o te uara o tō pūtea taketake.
I mau tonu te tauira i te wā e piki ana ngā mākete engari i pōraruraru i ngā hekenga, nā te mea ko te tā BNT hei utu i te IL ka whakapiki i te pēhanga hoko i runga i te tohu. I te Hune 2022, i whakamutua e Bancor te whakamarumaru IL i te wā o te mākete pea. E whakaatu ana te kaupapa nei ka kore pea e toitū te whakamarumaru IL e utua ana e te kawa i roto i te pēhanga mākete roa.
Ngā Pūrua Whiwhi Taumaha o Balancer
Balancer allows pools with custom weights beyond the standard 50/50. An 80/20 pool (for example 80% ETH / 20% USDC) reduces IL compared with a 50/50 pool because the higher-weighted token dominates the position. If ETH doubles in price, an 80/20 ETH/USDC pool loses about 3.3% relative to holding, compared with 5.72% for a 50/50 pool (weighted-pool formula: r^w / (w * r + 1 - w) - 1).
The trade-off is that a lopsided pool usually attracts less trading volume, so fee income tends to be lower. For LPs who want to keep most of their exposure to one token while still earning fees, weighted pools are a useful way to reduce IL.
CowSwap AMM (CoW AMM)
CoW AMM targets a different source of LP loss: arbitrage against stale pool prices, a form of maximal extractable value (MEV). In a standard AMM, arbitrageurs capture the gap between the pool price and the market price. CoW AMM processes trades through batch auctions in which solvers compete, so the pool rebalances at prices closer to the market.
The aim is to keep the "loss-versus-rebalancing" (LVR) that would otherwise go to arbitrage bots inside the pool for LPs. CoW's documentation describes this design (see Sources). How much it improves LP returns in practice varies by pool and market conditions; it does not remove the price-divergence component of IL.
Ngaro Taiao Kore vs Holding: Āhea Ka Pono Anō te LP?
Impermanent loss is not the full picture. The real question is whether your total LP return (fees earned minus IL) beats simply holding. In many cases, providing liquidity comes out ahead even with IL; in others, holding wins.
Tauiranga Pae Tū
The breakeven point is where cumulative trading fees equal the impermanent loss. Here is an illustrative example with round numbers:
You provide $10,000 to an ETH/USDC pool that charges 0.30% on every trade. The pool holds $50M of liquidity and processes $20M of daily volume, so LPs earn about 0.12% of the pool per day. Over 30 days, you earn roughly $360 in fees (3.6% of your $10,000 position).
During those 30 days, ETH rises 50%. Your IL is 2.02%, roughly $250 on the hold value of $12,500. Fees of $360 minus IL of about $250 leave you around $110 ahead of holding. If ETH had risen 200% instead, IL would be 13.4% and fees would not cover it.
The general rule: LP beats holding when fee income over your holding period exceeds the IL over the same period. High-volume, moderate-volatility pairs with deep liquidity tend to be the sweet spot.
Ka riro te pupuri i te LP
Ka pai ake te pupuri i te LP i ngā āhuatanga motuhake:
- Ngā nekehanga nui kotahi te ara: ki te piki tere tētahi tohu 5x, 10x rānei, ko te IL (25.5% i te 5x, 30% i te 6x) te nuinga o te wā ka nui ake i te moni utu. I roto i te pikinga kaha, ka toa te pupuri i te tohu rerekee.
- Ngā puna iti te rahi: Mēnā he iti te mahi hokohoko o te puna ki tōna TVL, he iti rawa te moni utu kia taea te whakaea i te IL iti noa iho.
- Short time horizons: IL hits immediately when prices move, but fees accumulate gradually. Over a few hours or days, a sharp price move can cause more IL than fees earned.
The practical takeaway: if you expect a large one-way move, holding tends to win. If you expect the token to trade within a range with high activity, providing liquidity tends to win.
Whakataurite Hua: LP vs Pupuri vs Whiwhi Stablecoin
Consider three strategies for $10,000 over one year. The LP row assumes fees equal to 20% of the initial deposit, a hypothetical figure for illustration; real fee income varies with volume. The USDC row uses the current Coinstancy Dollar Savings rate, which may be revised.
| Rautaki | Mēnā ETH +50% | Mēnā ETH kore panoni | Mēnā ETH -30% |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupuri ETH/USDC (50/50) | $12,500 | $10,000 | $8,500 |
| LP i roto i te ETH/USDC (20% whakapae i roto i ngā utu) | $14,247 | $12,000 | $10,367 |
| USDC in Dollar Savings (7.50% APY) | $10,750 | $10,750 | $10,750 |
The USDC row does not move with the ETH price: there is no impermanent loss, no ETH exposure and no withdrawal-timing decision. It carries different risks instead, mainly stablecoin, protocol and liquidity risk. For investors who do not want ETH price exposure, a simple stablecoin yield strategy is the more predictable of the three, but it still carries risk.
Ngā Pātai Auau
He aha te ngaro pāhekoheko i ngā kupu māmā?
Ka taea e au te ngaro i taku moni katoa ki te ngaro kore-mōrearea?
He ngaro wātea tūturu te ngaro wātea?
Ka whakaiti ngā utu tauhokohoko i te ngenge kore‑mōtika?
Ō hea ngā pūkete e whai ana i te impermanent loss iti rawa?
Me pēhea au e tātai i taku ngaro pāheketanga?
Haere tonu ki te ako
Tirohia ētahi atu aratohu mō ngā tikanga DeFi, te waiwai, me ngā rautaki hua.
He aha te pūnaha waiwai?
Mārama ki te mahi a ngā pūnaha waiwai, te pehea e whiwhi ana ngā LP i ngā utu, me ngā mōrearea e pā ana ki te tuku waiwai.
Pānui AratohuBalancer Aratohu
Ngā pūnaha waiwai whai taumaha, ngā ōritanga ritenga, me te pehea e whakaiti ai a Balancer i te IL mā ngā whirihoranga pūnaha 80/20.
Pānui AratohuCowSwap Aratohu
How CoW AMM uses batch auctions to reduce the arbitrage losses that liquidity providers face.
Pānui AratohuWhiwhi hua me te kore ngaro wā poto
Waiho te uauatanga o ngā tūranga LP me te mate kore pūmau. Whiwhi 7.50% APY i runga i te USDC me te Coinstancy Dollar Savings. Ka whakaemihia te huamoni ia hēkona, ka whakamoni aunoa. Kāore he raka, ka taea te tango i ngā wā katoa.
Tīmata te whiwhi moni i te CoinstancyKua rite ki te whiwhi me te kore mōrearea o te ngaro kore-mau?
Earn 7.50% APY on USDC with Coinstancy Dollar Savings. Interest accrues every second and is automatically reinvested. No lock-up, withdraw anytime. No impermanent loss.
Ngā puna me ngā pānuitanga atu anō
Ka whakawhirinaki ngā tatauranga me ngā kerēme o tēnei whārangi ki ngā tuhinga kei raro nei. Ka neke ngā tatauranga pā ki te wā (reiti, hua, utu, raraunga mākete): tirohia te uara ora i te puna i mua i te mahi.
- Uniswap documentation, Understanding returns (v2)developers.uniswap.org
The impermanent loss formula and the 0.6%, 2.0%, 5.7%, 13.4% and 25.5% figures used in the calculator table.
- Uniswap documentation, Pools (v2)developers.uniswap.org
The 0.30% swap fee paid to liquidity providers on Uniswap v2.
- Uniswap documentation, Feesdevelopers.uniswap.org
The Uniswap v3 fee tiers (0.05%, 0.30%, 1%) and the governance process for adding tiers.
- Uniswap documentation, Concentrated liquiditydevelopers.uniswap.org
How range positions work and why a position outside its range stops earning fees.
- Tuhinga CoW Protocoldocs.cow.fi
Batch auctions and the CoW AMM design described in the protection section.
- Bancor documentationdocs.bancor.network
Single-sided liquidity and the liquidity protection design discussed in the protection section.
- DefiLlama, Ngā Huangadefillama.com
Live fee income and yields for liquidity pools; use it instead of any fixed APY figure.
I arotakea whakamutunga: Mahuru 2026. Ka whakatuwheratia ngā hononga o waho ki tētahi tihopa hou; kāore a Coinstancy e whai kawenga mō ō rātou ihirangi.