Crypto & Blockchain iZiSwap (Mode) Crypto Exchange Review: Zero Fees, But Is It Usable?

iZiSwap (Mode) Crypto Exchange Review: Zero Fees, But Is It Usable?

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Slippage Calculator

Real-World Slippage Calculator

Based on iZiSwap's $171.58 24h trading volume

Slippage: 0%

When you hear "zero fees" and "zero slippage" in crypto, your ears perk up. Who wouldn’t want to swap tokens without paying a cent and without price changes eating into your profit? That’s the promise of iZiSwap (Mode) - a decentralized exchange built on the Mode blockchain, part of the iZUMi Finance ecosystem. But here’s the catch: the numbers don’t lie. In November 2023, this platform processed just $171.58 in 24-hour trading volume. That’s less than the cost of a decent coffee in New York. So is iZiSwap a hidden gem or a ghost town with fancy tech?

What Is iZiSwap (Mode)?

is a non-custodial decentralized exchange (DEX) that lets you swap tokens directly from your wallet - no KYC, no middleman. It launched in 2022 as a product of iZUMi Finance, a Japanese DeFi project founded in 2020. Unlike centralized exchanges like Binance or Coinbase, iZiSwap doesn’t hold your funds. You control your keys. That’s the DeFi promise.

Its standout feature is a proprietary system called "discretized liquidity." Think of it like Uniswap V3, but instead of continuous price curves, liquidity is split into fixed price intervals. This design theoretically eliminates slippage by locking in exact prices for trades. In theory, it’s brilliant. In practice? It needs users - and it doesn’t have them.

How It Works: Simple Interface, Complex Mechanics

Using iZiSwap is straightforward if you’ve used Uniswap or PancakeSwap before. Connect your wallet - MetaMask, WalletConnect, Ledger, or any of the 14 supported wallets - and you’re in. The interface is clean, minimal, and free of clutter. No pop-ups. No ads. Just a swap screen and a liquidity tab.

But here’s where it gets tricky. To add liquidity, you’re not just depositing tokens into a pool. You’re choosing discrete price ranges. If you pick the wrong range, your capital sits idle. One Reddit user said it took them three hours to figure out how to add liquidity. On Uniswap? Five minutes. That’s not a bug - it’s a barrier.

And while the platform claims "zero slippage," that only works if there’s enough liquidity in your chosen price range. With only five trading pairs across four tokens, finding a deep pool is rare. Most trades under $50 might go through fine. Anything bigger? You’ll likely get crushed by slippage anyway - despite the marketing.

Fees? There Are None. Seriously.

This is iZiSwap’s biggest selling point: 0.00% taker and maker fees. Every other DEX charges 0.1% to 0.3%. Even Uniswap V3 charges 0.01% to 1% depending on the pool. iZiSwap charges nothing. That’s unheard of.

But here’s the trade-off: no fees means no revenue for liquidity providers. On other DEXs, traders pay fees that get distributed back to LPs as rewards. On iZiSwap, liquidity providers earn nothing from trading. Their only incentive is potential token airdrops or future ecosystem rewards - which haven’t materialized yet.

Without fee revenue, there’s little reason for big players to lock up their capital here. That’s why liquidity is so thin. And thin liquidity means the zero-slippage claim is mostly theoretical.

Liquidity: The Silent Killer

Let’s talk numbers. As of late 2023, iZiSwap supports just four tokens and five trading pairs. Compare that to Uniswap’s 8,500+ pairs or PancakeSwap’s 500+. That’s not a small difference - it’s a chasm.

The $171.58 daily volume isn’t a typo. It’s real. That’s 0.000017% of Uniswap’s daily volume. For context, Curve - a niche DEX focused on stablecoins - does over $189 million a day. iZiSwap’s volume is less than one-hundredth of one percent of that.

What does this mean for you? If you try to swap $100 worth of a lesser-known token, you might get a 10% price impact. The platform says "zero slippage," but that’s only true if the pool has enough depth. With pools this shallow, slippage is guaranteed - just not because of the protocol. Because of lack of users.

Who Is This For?

iZiSwap isn’t for beginners. It’s not for casual traders. It’s not even for most DeFi users.

It’s for two types of people:

  • Researchers and developers who want to test discretized liquidity models in a live environment.
  • Early adopters who believe in iZUMi Finance’s long-term vision and are willing to risk capital to help bootstrap liquidity.
If you’re looking to swap ETH for USDC, use Uniswap. If you want to trade a new token with 200 people holding it, maybe iZiSwap is your only option. But don’t expect fast execution, low fees, or reliable pricing.

A developer surrounded by crystal price shards as liquidity providers walk away empty-handed.

Security and Transparency: The Big Question Marks

iZiSwap doesn’t have a public audit report from CertiK, Hacken, or any major firm. That’s a red flag. In DeFi, audits aren’t optional - they’re the baseline. Even small DEXs like SushiSwap had audits before launch. iZiSwap doesn’t list any.

It’s also unregulated. No financial authority oversees it. That’s normal for DEXs - but it means no recourse if something goes wrong. No chargebacks. No customer support. Just code.

The platform’s website (izumi.finance) gets about 65,800 monthly visits - 99% organic. That’s impressive for a niche DEX. But the bounce rate is 55%. Users spend just over a minute per visit. That suggests people land, get confused, and leave. Not a good sign for retention.

Mobile Access? No App. No PWA.

There’s no mobile app. No progressive web app (PWA). You can access it through your phone’s browser, but the experience is clunky. PancakeSwap lets you swap on mobile with one tap. iZiSwap? You’ll be zooming in and out, trying to find buttons. For a platform built on modern blockchain tech, this feels like a step backward.

How It Compares to the Competition

Comparison: iZiSwap (Mode) vs Leading DEXs
Feature iZiSwap (Mode) Uniswap V3 PancakeSwap Curve
Trading Pairs 5 8,500+ 500+ 200+
24-Hour Volume $171.58 $987M $412M $189M
Fees 0.00% 0.01%-1% 0.05%-0.3% 0.02%-0.04%
Liquidity Model Discretized Concentrated Constant Product Stablecoin Optimized
Audits None public Multiple Multiple Multiple
Mobile App No No (PWA) Yes No (PWA)
Users (Daily) ~2,200 1.2M 800K 250K

Real User Experiences

Reddit and SourceForge reviews paint a consistent picture:

  • "The interface is clean but finding liquidity pools on Mode is like searching for needles in a haystack - only 5 pairs available and most have terrible spreads." - u/DeFi_Trader92
  • "Took me 3 hours to figure out how to add liquidity properly compared to 15 minutes on Uniswap." - FxVerify user review
  • "Even $100 trades get 5-8% slippage. Zero fee doesn’t help if you lose 8% on price." - SourceForge reviewer
The praise is almost always about the fee structure. The complaints? Everything else.

A ghost town of abandoned crypto tokens with a glowing phoenix rising from fee receipts.

Should You Use iZiSwap (Mode)?

Here’s the blunt truth:

  • Don’t use it if you’re trading more than $50 at a time.
  • Don’t use it if you need fast, reliable swaps.
  • Don’t use it if you’re new to DeFi.
But if you’re a developer, a liquidity miner testing new models, or someone who believes iZUMi Finance will scale up - then yes. Go ahead. Connect your wallet. Add a small amount of liquidity. See how it feels. But don’t expect returns. Don’t expect volume. And don’t expect support when things go wrong.

It’s a lab, not a marketplace.

Future Outlook: Can It Survive?

iZiSwap’s survival depends on one thing: liquidity. Without it, the zero-slippage feature is meaningless. Without volume, the zero-fee model is unsustainable.

The iZUMi team has yet to announce a clear roadmap. No tokenomics update. No incentive program for LPs. No partnerships. Just code.

If they don’t fix liquidity within the next 12 months, iZiSwap will fade into obscurity - another footnote in DeFi history, remembered only by those who tried it and left.

Right now, it’s a proof of concept. Not a product.

Final Verdict

iZiSwap (Mode) is a fascinating experiment - technically bold, financially risky, and practically underutilized. It’s the kind of project that could change DeFi if it ever gains traction. But right now? It’s a ghost town with a brilliant blueprint.

If you’re curious, try it with $10. See how it feels. But if you’re serious about trading? Stick with the giants. They may charge fees, but at least they have liquidity.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is iZiSwap (Mode) safe to use?

iZiSwap is non-custodial, meaning you control your funds - which is good. But there are no public audit reports from CertiK, Hacken, or similar firms. That’s a major red flag in DeFi. The platform is also unregulated. Use only with small amounts you can afford to lose.

Does iZiSwap have a mobile app?

No, iZiSwap has no dedicated mobile app or progressive web app (PWA). You can access it through a mobile browser, but the interface isn’t optimized for touch. It’s clunky and hard to use on small screens.

Why is the trading volume so low?

Low volume is due to minimal liquidity. With only five trading pairs and no fee incentives for liquidity providers, big traders and institutions avoid it. Without volume, the zero-slippage feature doesn’t work in practice - creating a vicious cycle.

Can I earn rewards by providing liquidity?

Currently, no. Unlike Uniswap or PancakeSwap, iZiSwap doesn’t distribute trading fees to liquidity providers. There’s no APY, no token rewards, and no incentive program announced. You’re providing liquidity with no financial return - only potential future airdrops.

What tokens can I trade on iZiSwap?

As of late 2023, iZiSwap supports only four tokens: MODE, iZi, WETH, and USDC. There are five trading pairs total. That’s far fewer than competitors. If you’re looking to trade new or niche tokens, you’ll likely need to find them elsewhere.

Is iZiSwap better than Uniswap?

No, not for most users. Uniswap has 1,000x more liquidity, 100x more trading pairs, and better tools. iZiSwap’s zero fees and discretized liquidity are innovative, but they’re useless without depth. Uniswap is reliable. iZiSwap is experimental.

Next Steps

If you’re still interested in trying iZiSwap (Mode):

  1. Connect a wallet like MetaMask or WalletConnect.
  2. Only deposit $10-$50 worth of tokens. Don’t risk more.
  3. Trade during peak hours (8:00-12:00 UTC) when volume spikes slightly.
  4. Avoid large swaps - expect slippage even with "zero slippage" claims.
  5. Read the documentation on izumi.finance before adding liquidity.
If you’re looking to trade reliably? Stick with Uniswap, PancakeSwap, or Curve. They’re not perfect - but they work.

About the author

Kurt Marquardt

I'm a blockchain analyst and educator based in Boulder, where I research crypto networks and on-chain data. I consult startups on token economics and security best practices. I write practical guides on coins and market breakdowns with a focus on exchanges and airdrop strategies. My mission is to make complex crypto concepts usable for everyday investors.

2 Comments

  1. Annette LeRoux
    Annette LeRoux

    zero fees sounds like a dream until you realize no one’s there to take your money 😅
    kinda like throwing confetti into an empty room and calling it a party.

  2. Vincent Cameron
    Vincent Cameron

    this is what happens when you optimize for aesthetics instead of utility. zero slippage? cool. zero liquidity? not so much.
    it’s like having a Ferrari with no gas.

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