How to Use Uniswap Aave and GMX on Arbitrum

05 September 2026

You bridged funds to Arbitrum. The ETH is in your wallet. Now what? Three applications dominate activity on this chain: Uniswap, Aave and GMX. Each does something different. Each works almost exactly like its Ethereum version, except fees are lower and confirmation times are faster.

This guide assumes you already have ETH for gas and at least one other token on Arbitrum One. If you are still on the Ethereum mainnet, you are not ready for these steps.

Before you start: check the network

Your wallet must be pointed at Arbitrum One. In MetaMask, open the network selector. If it says "Arbitrum One" you are good. If it says "Ethereum Mainnet" or anything else, switch now.

Gas on Arbitrum is paid in ETH. Same ETH that pays for Ethereum mainnet transactions. The amount you need is tiny - usually less than $0.01 per swap. Keep 0.01 ETH in your wallet for gas; that covers dozens of transactions. Every dapp on Arbitrum works through your wallet: you sign transactions, you confirm them, and the dapp never holds your keys.

Swapping on Uniswap

Uniswap on Arbitrum is a decentralized exchange where you swap one token for another through automated liquidity pools. No order book. No account creation.

Go to app.uniswap.org. Click "Connect Wallet." Pick your wallet type; MetaMask will ask you to confirm. The site will detect you are on Arbitrum. If it does not, switch networks inside the Uniswap interface.

Select the token you want to sell, then select the token you want to buy, and enter the amount. Uniswap shows you the exchange rate, the price impact and the network fee. Price impact matters when you trade large amounts relative to the pool size. A 1% impact is normal. A 10% impact means you are moving the market against yourself.

Click "Swap." Your wallet opens a confirmation window. Review the details: gas estimate, slippage tolerance. Uniswap defaults to 0.5% slippage; you can raise it to 1% for volatile pairs. Confirm the transaction. Wait a few seconds. Your swap is done.

The fee on Arbitrum Uniswap is roughly 0.05% to 0.3% depending on the pool, the same percentage as Ethereum mainnet. The difference is the gas cost. On Ethereum a swap might cost $5 to $50; on Arbitrum it costs cents.

Lending and Borrowing on Aave

Aave is a lending protocol. You deposit assets to earn interest, and you borrow assets by putting up collateral. Everything happens on-chain with no credit check and no approval process.

Navigate to app.aave.com and connect your wallet. The interface shows your Arbitrum balance at the top.

To supply assets, click "Deposit" next to the token you want to lend and enter the amount. Approve the token contract if this is your first time using Aave with that token - that approval transaction costs gas. Then confirm the deposit transaction. Your tokens go into the Aave pool and you start earning interest immediately. The interest rate changes based on supply and demand; Aave displays the current APY.

To borrow, you must first have collateral deposited. Aave calculates your health factor. If it drops below 1, your collateral gets liquidated and a penalty applies. Keep your health factor above 2, meaning your collateral is worth at least twice what you borrowed.

Click "Borrow" on the asset you want. Choose between stable rate and variable rate - the stable rate changes slowly while the variable rate moves with the market, and variable is usually cheaper when demand is low. Confirm the transaction; the borrowed tokens arrive in your wallet. Repaying works the same way: click "Repay," choose how much, confirm, and your debt shrinks while your health factor improves.

Perpetual trading on GMX

GMX is a perpetual exchange where you trade with borrowed funds magnifying your exposure. No expiry date and no funding payments in the traditional sense. GMX uses a unique model: traders bet against liquidity providers.

Visit gmx.io and connect your wallet. The dashboard shows your account equity and open positions.

To start, deposit collateral. GMX accepts ETH, USDC and several other tokens. Click "Buy/Sell" in the top menu and choose the market pair - for example, ETH/USD. Choose direction: Long or Short. Set your magnification level. GMX allows up to 30x on some pairs; higher magnification means higher risk. A 3% move against you at 30x wipes your position.

Enter the amount of collateral to use; GMX shows the liquidation price in real time. Review the fee: a 0.1% opening fee, a 0.1% closing fee, and a borrowing fee that accrues hourly. Click "Open Position." Your wallet confirms the transaction and the position appears in your open positions list. You can close it any time - click "Close," pay the closing fee, and the profit or loss settles in your collateral token.

GMX uses a price feed from Chainlink with prices updating every few seconds. Slippage is minimal because GMX uses a dynamic pricing model rather than an order book.

Common Problems

Transaction fails? Usually gas is too low or slippage too tight. Increase slippage tolerance, or wait for the network to clear. Wallet says "wrong network"? Switch to Arbitrum One in your wallet settings and refresh the dapp. Nothing shows in the dapp after deposit? Wait - the transaction must confirm. On Arbitrum that takes 1 to 5 seconds. Refresh the page.

Summary

Uniswap swaps tokens; Aave lends and borrows; GMX trades with magnified exposure. All three work on Arbitrum with lower fees than Ethereum. All three require ETH for gas and all three expect you to understand the risks.

Start with Uniswap: swap a small amount. Then try Aave: deposit a token, borrow against it. Then try GMX with a tiny position. Get comfortable before increasing size. Arbitrum makes these applications affordable to use, but affordability does not remove risk. Understand each protocol before committing funds.

Back to arbitrum