I recently spoke with DEX Chen about his journey from early DEX trading to becoming a builder on Uniswap v4. Our conversation explored his path through DeFi, his experience with the Uniswap Hook Incubator, and his vision for Semantic Layer and their hooks, Degen Options and Silicon Vision Fund. His story highlights how permissionless innovation on Uniswap v4 is shaping the future of DeFi.

What drew you to DeFi?
My journey began in 2017 when I discovered Chainlink on a primitive orderbook-based DEX.

By 2018, I was actively using platforms like KyberSwap, because of my growing distrust of centralized exchanges. Things took a professional turn after DeFi summer in 2020 when I joined a market maker in Vancouver, diving deep into DEX arbitrage.

What makes Uniswap v4 stand out to you among other protocols?
Uniswap v4 is special because it's permissionless. The ability to create liquidity pools without gatekeepers means that you can move fast without waiting for other teams. You can experiment, push to prod, and get users directly.

What was your experience like going through the you to join the Uniswap Hook Incubator?
Firstly, the eight-week structured approach to the program provided time for deeper thinking about ecosystem development for me and my team at Semantic Layer, which was crucial in deciding what to build. As far as the community, the Uniswap Hook Incubator does a great job of bridging the gap between the best developers worldwide. Before the UHI, the only other ways to reach top builders were either through Twitter DMs or big VCs.

For example: when we were trying to solve the MEV problem, there were five other teams, each working on unique approaches to address the issue. We inspired each other and were able to exchange feedback. This level of collaboration is unique.

Compared to other incubator programs, the Uniswap Hook Incubator offers something special: you can connect with thought leaders and VCs to get advice and exposure for your product without giving up equity. What really stands out is how they focus purely on builders and technology rather than financial returns. There's no pressure to give away a chunk of your company - they're just here to help you build.

Your team developed two winning hooks, one of which is called ‘Degen Options.’ Tell me about what problem you aimed to solve.
Semantic Layer developed Degen Options after reflecting on DeFi summer 2020 and the core reason why it kicked off: the revolution of liquidity mining incentives.

As we were deciding what kind of hook to build, we were also observing the rising popularity of memecoins, and asked ourselves how to better align interests between the parties who are earning incentives and contributing to trading volume.

The goal of Degen Options is to create a new incentive mechanism that would benefit liquidity providers while driving more trading volume.

What challenges did you face during development?
One challenge was deploying on v4’s testnet because at the time, there wasn't the full suite of infrastructure. We had to deploy some infrastructure ourselves, but the Uniswap Hook Incubator's office hours proved very useful during these technical challenges.

How else has the Uniswap ecosystem supported your journey?
The Uniswap Foundation invited me to speak about the Degen Options hook at Uniday at ETH CC, providing valuable networking opportunities with other builders.

It was powerful to see such a high concentration of the top developers from the Uniswap Hook Incubator and the Uniswap Ecosystem in one room where we can all exchange ideas.

What's next for Semantic Layer and Degen Options?
Semantic Layer's mission is to help dApps control their own sequencing, internalize some of the MEV, and improve user experience. We’re building infrastructure to help users capture orderflow, giving applications more control over transaction sequencing. We’ve also built a second hook called Silicon Valley Fund (SVF), an autonomous agent-run hedge fund platform that introduces new mechanics and ushers in the next generation of agent operated funds.

Looking ahead, we’re focused on the v4 launch and working with security researchers for improvements. The Semantic Layer testnet is planned for early 2025, with Degen Options and SVF integration on the horizon.

Any kind of hooks do you hope to see next?
I hope to see something beyond my own imagination. I hope people identify use cases other than improving slippage and trading results. Perhaps we’ll see a derivative hook, or a way to connect to other ecosystems. I'm excited to see the variety of hooks that will be built on v4.

Note: The views expressed herein may not reflect the views of the Uniswap Foundation. This interview is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, financial, or professional advice.