Impermanent Loss Definition
Impermanent loss is a risk when providing liquidity to a decentralized exchange (DEX). It happens when the price of the assets in the pool change relative to each other. For example, if traders provide liquidity to a pool of ETH and USDC, and the price of ETH goes up, they will lose some of their USDC. This is because the value of your ETH will increase, but the value of their USDC will stay the same.
The amount of impermanent a trader experiences will depend on the price change of the assets in the pool. If the price of one asset goes up and the price of the other asset goes down, traders will experience the most impermanent loss. If the prices of both assets go up or down, traders will experience less impermanent loss.
Impermanent loss, in simple terms, means the value of a crypto portfolio at the time of withdrawal is less than its value at the time of deposit. This is more common in cases where traders deposit one crypto to buy another. The exchange of value may lead to a drop in price if the market conditions change.
There are a few things you can do to reduce your risk of impermanent loss:
- Choose less volatile assets. Volatility is the measure of how much the price of an asset changes over time. Choosing less volatile assets will make traders less likely to experience impermanent loss.
- Provide liquidity to pools with a large number of assets. Pools with many assets are less likely to experience large price changes.
- Use a tool like impermanent.finance to calculate traders’ impermanent loss risk. This tool can help them decide which pools to provide liquidity to.
Impermanent loss is a risk that all liquidity providers must be aware of as it commonly occurs, given the volatile nature of cryptocurrencies.
Here are some additional things to keep in mind about impermanent loss:
- Impermanent loss is only temporary. If the price of the assets in the pool returns to its original ratio, the trader will regain the original investment.
- Impermanent loss is not a guarantee. It is possible to experience gains even if the price of the assets in the pool changes.
Impermanent loss is not the only risk associated with providing liquidity. There is also the risk of smart contract hacks and rug pulls. For traders considering providing liquidity to a DEX, it is important to understand the risks involved. Impermanent loss is a real risk but not the only one. Traders can calculate their potential impermanent loss using an impermanent loss calculator.