EL7.AI
CryptoMedium•22 October 2026•
4 min read

Aero announces protocol launch on 7 networks and unification of Aerodrome and Velodrome tokens

Key Facts

1Binance says AERO's total supply will rise from 2 billion to 2.12 billion tokens after the merger and contract swap.
2Each old AERO converts into 1 new AERO, and each VELO into 0.044 of the new token.
3The converted supply is split 94.5% for the Aerodrome community and 5.5% for the Velodrome community.
4The project's dashboard shows combined cumulative revenue for the two platforms of $580 million, based on data pulled on October 21, 2026.
5Coinbase is temporarily suspending AERO and VELO sends and receives from November 2 to 4, 2026, to carry out the transition.

Aero announced the launch of its unified protocol, formed through the merger of Aerodrome and Velodrome, across 7 networks, converting both platforms' tokens into the new AERO token and enabling cross-chain swaps through a single interface. The official announcement set the launch for 8 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time on October 21, 2026. That corresponds to midnight on October 22 UTC, according to the schedule published by the project. The launch networks include Base, Ethereum mainnet, Optimism mainnet, Arc, Ink, Robinhood Chain and Arbitrum. In its pre-launch update, the project said "all seven launch networks receive a full deployment of the Aero protocol." The launch thus combines deployment of the protocol across these networks with the transition of holders of both platforms' tokens to the unified token, under the announced upgrade arrangements.

For token holders, the upgrade terms provide for each old AERO token to be converted into 1 new AERO. Each VELO token converts into 0.044 of the new token, according to the official upgrade page. These ratios apply to the existing Aerodrome and Velodrome tokens as they transition to the unified protocol. The Aerodrome community accounts for 94.5% of the converted supply, according to the launch announcement. The Velodrome community's share is 5.5% of that supply, defining the two communities' relative weights in the conversion. In its FAQ on the reward allocation system, the project confirmed that "100% of the initial AERO supply" goes to the two platforms' existing communities.

The technical relationship between the merger partners dates back to Aerodrome's origins as a fork of the Velodrome protocol, according to Coinbase's description of the platform. The project announced their merger to form Aero ten months before the pre-launch update, according to that update. The unified protocol's launch implements that previously announced plan, combining the tokens and swapping the contract. According to Binance's announcement on the process, AERO's total supply before the merger and contract swap is 2 billion tokens. The exchange says that total will rise to 2.12 billion tokens after completion. Binance puts circulating supply before the transition at 1 billion tokens, compared with 1.07 billion tokens afterward.

On the activity brought together by the protocol, the project's dashboard shows combined cumulative revenue for Aerodrome and Velodrome of $580 million. The figure appears in data pulled on October 21, 2026, according to the date published on Aero's economics dashboard. The revenue distribution model provides for staked token holders who direct rewards to specific pools to receive proportional shares of those pools' revenue. These shares include 100% of the platform revenue accrued by the pools supported by the participants concerned, according to the project's explanation. Meanwhile, the economic design ties the cap on rewards allocated to each pool to a multiple of its revenue. The project set a long-term platform-wide target of approximately 1.2 times pool revenue for reward caps.

The change also covers the mechanism for directing rewards, with "Predictive Allocation" replacing the weekly voting used by Aerodrome and Velodrome. The project described the replacement as "a near-real-time, market-driven process" in the system's FAQ. Reward allocation thus moves from the two platforms' weekly voting cycle to the new mechanism specified by the unified protocol. On the trading side, the "MetaSwaps" service enables token swaps across networks in a single step, according to the project's description of the service. These swaps are executed through a single interface, using liquidity on blockchains. "Slipstream" technology prices each swap according to current market conditions, according to its dedicated page. The technology adjusts swap fees dynamically in response to demand, among the functions the project outlines for trading operations.

The next step in the official schedule is the start of automated allocation through "Autopilot" at 16:00 UTC on October 22. As part of exchanges' token transition arrangements, Coinbase announced a temporary suspension of AERO and VELO sends and receives to carry out the transition. The suspension begins on November 2, 2026, according to Coinbase Exchange's notice on the process. The announced suspension runs until November 4, 2026, covering sends and receives of both platforms' tokens during that period. Coinbase confirmed in the same notice that "AERO trading will not be affected" by the transition.