© 2026 Della Group. All Rights Reserved.
Okay, so you wanna master Aerodrome Finance? It's this killer DEX on the Base network - super cheap fees, easy swaps, and ways to earn by adding liquidity or grabbing AERO rewards. I use it all the time for quick trades and passive income. We'll cover swapping tokens, adding liquidity (both regular and that concentrated stuff), earning AERO, and yeah, staking it too. No fluff. Just steps that work. Sound good?
The thing is, Base runs on ETH for gas, so expect tiny fees like 0.000005 ETH per swap - that's like 13 cents most days. Got your wallet ready? MetaMask or whatever, switched to Base? If not, hop on that first.
Look, before anything, you need ETH on Base. I usually grab mine from Coinbase. Copy your wallet address, head to the exchange, buy ETH, and withdraw to Base network. Takes 5 minutes, costs maybe $15 first time but then you're golden.
Why Base? It's layer 2 on Ethereum, so gas is dirt cheap. No more $50 fees like mainnet. Once ETH lands, you're in. Oh, and import any tokens you might need via Basescan if they don't show up.
Pro tip: Keep 0.01 ETH handy for gas. You'll burn through like 0.00001-0.00005 per tx. Super low.
Swaps are dead simple. Head to the Swap tab. Pick your input token (say ETH), output (whatever, like USDC or AERO). Enter amount. Boom, it shows price impact, slippage (usually under 0.5% for small trades), and gas.
I just swapped 0.1 ETH for some AERO yesterday. Gas? 13 cents. Slippage? 0.3%. Hit "Swap," approve if first time, sign in wallet. Done. Tokens land instantly.
What's the fee? 0.3% total, but most goes to liquidity providers. You pay a sliver to Aerodrome. Honest.
Now the fun part. Providing liquidity means you deposit two tokens into a pool, say ETH/USDC, at the current ratio. Traders swap through it, you snag 70% of the 0.3% fees (kinda, depending on votes). In my experience, popular pools like ETH/USDbC pull 10-50% APR from fees alone.
But heads up: impermanent loss. Prices move? Your holdings might lag holding solo. Why care? Net yield = fees minus IL. Stable pairs? Minimal IL.
Go to Liquidity tab. Pick a pool. Need both tokens in exact ratio - site calculates it. Enter amount for one, it autos the other. Approve both, add liquidity. You get LP tokens (receipts) proving your share.
Your dashboard shows ownership %, daily fees earned. I check mine weekly. Pull fees by removing liquidity or sometimes pools let you claim direct.
This is fancier. Not full range - you pick a price range, like current price ±5%. Fees concentrate where action is. Tools like Metrix Finance help sim APR.
Okay, steps: Liquidity > Concentrated. Pick pool. Set min/max price (paste current, tweak 1-3% either side for starters). Sim on Metrix first - shows fees APR vs rewards APR. Stake LP for AERO emissions? Fees to voters, rewards to stakers. Pick wisely.
Deposited $10k once in a tight range, pulled 65% APR after a month. Small deets matter. Gas same as regular.
AERO is the token. Earn by providing liquidity to voted pools or staking. veAERO holders (locked AERO) vote weekly on emissions. Winning pools get more AERO rewards.
First, buy AERO via swap. Then stake: Pools tab > Stake. Lock for veAERO NFT. Longer lock = more voting power. I lock 1 year max for balance.
Your LP position? Stake it in the pool for AERO rewards. Dashboard shows APR - can be 20-100%+ on hot pools. Claim weekly or auto compound sometimes.
Potential issue: Rug pulls or low volume pools. Stick to top 20, TVL over $10M. Safe ish.
Click your wallet icon top right. Shows positions, LP tokens, fees accrued, AERO rewards. Remove liquidity? Select position, "Remove," enter %, get tokens + fees back.
Example: Got 1% of a pool? If it earns $1000 fees daily, you get $10. Pro rata. Simple.
| Action | Gas Cost (ETH) | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Swap | 0.000005-0.00002 | 10s |
| Add LP | 0.00008-0.00015 | 30s |
| Stake LP | 0.00003 | 15s |
| Remove LP | 0.0001 | 20s |
See? Cheap. Compare to Uniswap on mainnet - nightmare.
Got AERO? Pools > AERO. Lock it. Get NFT. Vote on pools to steer emissions your way. I vote for my LPs usually. Boosts my yields.
Lock periods: 1 week to 4 years. Max lock = 1x voting power. Renew or it decays. Why bother? veAERO holders get bribe fees too sometimes.
Steps:
Can't add liquidity? Ratios off. Swap to match first. Tx fails? Bump slippage or gas (rare on Base).
LP not showing? Refresh, check Basescan. Revoke approvals on revoke.cash if old junk.
IL killing you? Go correlated assets (ETH/cbETH) or stables. Or use auto tools like Beefy - one click deposit, they handle ratios.
In my experience, start small. $100 test run. Scale when comfy. Pools change - watch TVL, volume.
Metrix Finance? Game changer for concentrated. Open Aerodrome concentrated pools, sim ranges on Metrix (Base > Aerodrome). Favorite pools, tweak min/max price, see projected APR. Deposit button jumps back to site.
Say current price 2500 USDC/ETH. Set 2450-2550. ~3% range. $10k deposit? Might sim 30% fees APR + rewards. Worth 1-2 hours/week monitoring.
Don't sleep on it. Manual LP easy, but this optimizes.
One more: Removing liquidity. Dashboard > position > Remove. Enter share (100% full exit). Gets tokens + fees. Might have IL - calc on site.
I pull every 2 weeks, compound fees into new positions. Keeps growing.
© 2026 Della Group. All Rights Reserved.