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CoW Swap: score, security record and what it is for

87/100SCORE · ATrusted Grade A, excellent

CoW Swap batches orders and has professional solvers compete to fill them, which removes most sandwich attacks and returns any price surplus to you. It is slower than an instant swap because it settles in batches, and that is the trade off for a better fill.

The facts

LIVE SINCE: 2021
TYPE: Intent based aggregator
CHAINS: Ethereum, Arbitrum, Base, Gnosis
SWAP FEE: No protocol fee on most swaps. Solvers compete and surplus goes to you.
AUDITS: Extensively audited. Its core innovation is protecting users from MEV.
WHO CAN CHANGE IT: COW token governance with a DAO.

How the score breaks down

security27/30

liquidity20/25

chains12/15

costs15/15

decentralisation13/15

Where it is strong and where it is not

✓ Strengths

The strongest MEV protection of any DEX, so you are not sandwiched
Coincidence of wants can match orders with no liquidity pool at all
Any price surplus is returned to you
No fee on most swaps

✗ Weaknesses

Orders settle in batches, so it is slower than an instant swap
Fewer chains than the majors
The intent model is unfamiliar

Exploit history

No exploit of the core contracts on record.

Our read

The best choice on Ethereum if you care about the price you actually get rather than the price you were quoted. Sandwich attacks are a real, measurable cost and this removes most of them.

BEFORE YOU SWAP

Swap keeps failingSlippage, approvals, taxes and thin liquidity. Revoke approvalsEvery swap leaves a permission behind. Clear them. Gas tokensWhy you need the chain's native coin first. Pick a walletYou need self custody before you can use any DEX.

RISK WARNING Crypto assets are highly volatile and largely unregulated. You can lose everything you put in. Nothing on this page is financial, investment or tax advice, and nothing here is a recommendation to buy or sell any asset. Do your own research and never commit money you cannot afford to lose.