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Infographic

How a DEX swap moves a pool's price

Worked example in a constant-product pool (x × y = k) with a 0.3% fee. Swapping 100 A into a 1,000 A / 1,000 B pool returns about 90.66 B, not 100: a 9.3% shortfall from price impact plus the fee.

Mitey the yeti pointing ahead while holding a clipboard, with a liquidity pool
Mitey says: Every number in this picture is worked out in the notes below it.
DEX swap in a constant-product poolYour walletsends 100 Agets 90.66 BLiquidity pool · x × y = kBeforeA 1,000 B 1,000AfterA 1,100 B 909.34Price impact ≈ 9.3% (incl. 0.3% fee)curveHypothetical round numbers for teaching · not a real pool
How a DEX swap moves a pool's price. Worked example in a constant-product pool (x × y = k) with a 0.3% fee. Swapping 100 A into a 1,000 A / 1,000 B pool returns about 90.66 B, not 100: a 9.3% shortfall from price impact plus the fee.

Reading the infographic

  • Before: the pool holds 1,000 A and 1,000 B, so k = 1,000,000 and 1 A ≈ 1 B.
  • You send 100 A. After the 0.3% fee, 99.7 A counts toward the curve.
  • The pool must keep x × y = k, so B falls to about 909.34 and you receive about 90.66 B.
  • Bigger trades relative to the pool move the price more. Slippage limits protect you from accepting a worse result.

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You may share this infographic with a link back to this page. Numbers are hypothetical teaching examples unless a date and source are shown.

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