{
  "$schema": "https://degreesofsatoshi.com/encyclopedia/schemas/article-v1.json",
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  "id": "slippage-and-price-impact",
  "canonical": "https://degreesofsatoshi.com/encyclopedia/slippage-and-price-impact/",
  "collection": "defi",
  "title": "Slippage and price impact: two reasons a swap rate can differ",
  "description": "Separate the price change caused by your trade from execution changes after quoting, and see how minimum output relates to slippage tolerance.",
  "aliases": [
    "slippage versus price impact"
  ],
  "dates": {
    "published": "2026-10-02",
    "modified": "2026-10-02",
    "verified": "2026-10-02T18:17:57.897Z",
    "dataAsOf": null
  },
  "authorship": {
    "publisher": "Degrees of Satoshi editorial project",
    "process": "AI-assisted research and drafting with a separate automated source-verification pass; no external expert or named human review is implied."
  },
  "quickAnswer": {
    "text": "Price impact describes how a trade changes execution price by consuming liquidity. Slippage commonly describes a difference between the quote and actual execution as conditions change. A slippage-tolerance setting permits a bounded worse result or rejects the trade; increasing it does not improve the quote.",
    "claimId": "slippage-and-price-impact-quick-answer",
    "sourceIds": [
      "pricing",
      "pair"
    ]
  },
  "keyFacts": [
    {
      "label": "Price impact",
      "value": "A trade’s size relative to reserves affects its rate.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "pair"
      ],
      "id": "price-impact",
      "claimId": "slippage-and-price-impact-fact-price-impact"
    },
    {
      "label": "Slippage bound",
      "value": "A minimum output restricts accepted execution.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "pricing"
      ],
      "id": "slippage-bound",
      "claimId": "slippage-and-price-impact-fact-slippage-bound"
    },
    {
      "label": "Tolerance",
      "value": "A wider permitted range does not add liquidity.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "pricing",
        "pair"
      ],
      "id": "tolerance",
      "claimId": "slippage-and-price-impact-fact-tolerance"
    }
  ],
  "prerequisites": [
    "constant-product-pools"
  ],
  "sections": [
    {
      "id": "impact",
      "heading": "A trade moves along the curve",
      "paragraphs": [
        "In a fee-free pool with 100 A and 1,000 B, the starting marginal rate is 10 B per A. A trade of 10 A receives about 90.909 B, or 9.0909 B per A on average. Relative to the starting rate, that is about 9.09% lower.",
        "This gap exists even if no other trader acts between quote and execution. The trade itself changes inventory. Software sometimes includes fees or uses another reference rate in its displayed price-impact figure, so the definition matters."
      ],
      "sourceIds": [
        "pair"
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "tolerance",
      "heading": "Calculate the minimum acceptable output explicitly",
      "paragraphs": [
        "For an illustrative exact-input swap using a direct percentage reduction from a 100-unit quote, a 1% tolerance sets a 99-unit minimum before rounding. An interface can use a different convention, so inspect the actual encoded bound that the contract enforces.",
        "Raising tolerance to 5% changes the permitted minimum to 95; it does not improve the 100-unit quote. A looser bound can allow worse execution. A tighter bound can lead to failure when state moves, and an included failing transaction may still cost gas."
      ],
      "sourceIds": [
        "edition-uniswap-limit",
        "revert",
        "pricing"
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "reference",
      "heading": "Keep the reference and timing visible",
      "paragraphs": [
        "A useful comparison reports input, quote time or block, quoted output, minimum output and settled output. Separate pool fees from gas and interface charges. Otherwise two percentages can describe different economic effects while using the same word.",
        "Limits can reject an unfavorable transaction without preventing the gas cost of an included failure. A deadline can limit when a transaction is valid, but does not reserve the quoted pool state until then."
      ],
      "sourceIds": [
        "pricing",
        "revert"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "faq": [
    {
      "question": "Will increasing slippage tolerance make the swap cheaper?",
      "answer": "No. It broadens the range of acceptable execution and may allow a worse result. The quoted output still comes from inventory, route, fees and the amount being traded.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "pricing",
        "pair"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "claims": [
    {
      "id": "slippage-and-price-impact-quick-answer",
      "articleSlug": "slippage-and-price-impact",
      "statement": "Price impact describes how a trade changes execution price by consuming liquidity. Slippage commonly describes a difference between the quote and actual execution as conditions change. A slippage-tolerance setting permits a bounded worse result or rejects the trade; increasing it does not improve the quote.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "source-5cf943a6c62eb740",
        "source-5651ae58cdcb25c2"
      ],
      "sourceLocators": [
        {
          "sourceId": "source-5cf943a6c62eb740",
          "locator": "Pricing Trades; Exact Input; Exact Output"
        },
        {
          "sourceId": "source-5651ae58cdcb25c2",
          "locator": "mint; burn; swap; _mintFee"
        }
      ],
      "scope": {
        "collection": "defi",
        "dataAsOf": null,
        "blockHeight": null
      },
      "qualification": "",
      "evidenceStatus": "documented",
      "verification": {
        "status": "verified",
        "method": "independent automated source review",
        "checkedAt": "2026-10-02T18:17:57.897Z",
        "reviewer": "automated independent verification — DeFi content-pass reviewer",
        "notes": [
          "Added EIP140 and existing Uniswap v2 pricing source to the changed tolerance section. UniswapX alone does not support a generic claim that the trader pays for failed settlement; its own model assigns submission costs to fillers.",
          "Qualified the 100-to-99 example as the direct percentage-reduction convention, not a universal interface algorithm. Recomputed 100*(1-.01)=99 and 100*(1-.05)=95; widening the allowed outcome does not improve the quote.",
          "Read EIP140 rollback and remaining-gas semantics. Also recomputed the unchanged fee-free 10-A trade:1000-100000/110=90.9090909B and average 9.090909B/A."
        ]
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "slippage-and-price-impact-fact-price-impact",
      "articleSlug": "slippage-and-price-impact",
      "statement": "Price impact: A trade’s size relative to reserves affects its rate.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "source-5651ae58cdcb25c2"
      ],
      "sourceLocators": [
        {
          "sourceId": "source-5651ae58cdcb25c2",
          "locator": "mint; burn; swap; _mintFee"
        }
      ],
      "scope": {
        "collection": "defi",
        "dataAsOf": null,
        "blockHeight": null
      },
      "qualification": "",
      "evidenceStatus": "documented",
      "verification": {
        "status": "verified",
        "method": "independent automated source review",
        "checkedAt": "2026-10-02T18:17:57.897Z",
        "reviewer": "automated independent verification — DeFi content-pass reviewer",
        "notes": [
          "Added EIP140 and existing Uniswap v2 pricing source to the changed tolerance section. UniswapX alone does not support a generic claim that the trader pays for failed settlement; its own model assigns submission costs to fillers.",
          "Qualified the 100-to-99 example as the direct percentage-reduction convention, not a universal interface algorithm. Recomputed 100*(1-.01)=99 and 100*(1-.05)=95; widening the allowed outcome does not improve the quote.",
          "Read EIP140 rollback and remaining-gas semantics. Also recomputed the unchanged fee-free 10-A trade:1000-100000/110=90.9090909B and average 9.090909B/A."
        ]
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "slippage-and-price-impact-fact-slippage-bound",
      "articleSlug": "slippage-and-price-impact",
      "statement": "Slippage bound: A minimum output restricts accepted execution.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "source-5cf943a6c62eb740"
      ],
      "sourceLocators": [
        {
          "sourceId": "source-5cf943a6c62eb740",
          "locator": "Pricing Trades; Exact Input; Exact Output"
        }
      ],
      "scope": {
        "collection": "defi",
        "dataAsOf": null,
        "blockHeight": null
      },
      "qualification": "",
      "evidenceStatus": "documented",
      "verification": {
        "status": "verified",
        "method": "independent automated source review",
        "checkedAt": "2026-10-02T18:17:57.897Z",
        "reviewer": "automated independent verification — DeFi content-pass reviewer",
        "notes": [
          "Added EIP140 and existing Uniswap v2 pricing source to the changed tolerance section. UniswapX alone does not support a generic claim that the trader pays for failed settlement; its own model assigns submission costs to fillers.",
          "Qualified the 100-to-99 example as the direct percentage-reduction convention, not a universal interface algorithm. Recomputed 100*(1-.01)=99 and 100*(1-.05)=95; widening the allowed outcome does not improve the quote.",
          "Read EIP140 rollback and remaining-gas semantics. Also recomputed the unchanged fee-free 10-A trade:1000-100000/110=90.9090909B and average 9.090909B/A."
        ]
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "slippage-and-price-impact-fact-tolerance",
      "articleSlug": "slippage-and-price-impact",
      "statement": "Tolerance: A wider permitted range does not add liquidity.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "source-5cf943a6c62eb740",
        "source-5651ae58cdcb25c2"
      ],
      "sourceLocators": [
        {
          "sourceId": "source-5cf943a6c62eb740",
          "locator": "Pricing Trades; Exact Input; Exact Output"
        },
        {
          "sourceId": "source-5651ae58cdcb25c2",
          "locator": "mint; burn; swap; _mintFee"
        }
      ],
      "scope": {
        "collection": "defi",
        "dataAsOf": null,
        "blockHeight": null
      },
      "qualification": "",
      "evidenceStatus": "documented",
      "verification": {
        "status": "verified",
        "method": "independent automated source review",
        "checkedAt": "2026-10-02T18:17:57.897Z",
        "reviewer": "automated independent verification — DeFi content-pass reviewer",
        "notes": [
          "Added EIP140 and existing Uniswap v2 pricing source to the changed tolerance section. UniswapX alone does not support a generic claim that the trader pays for failed settlement; its own model assigns submission costs to fillers.",
          "Qualified the 100-to-99 example as the direct percentage-reduction convention, not a universal interface algorithm. Recomputed 100*(1-.01)=99 and 100*(1-.05)=95; widening the allowed outcome does not improve the quote.",
          "Read EIP140 rollback and remaining-gas semantics. Also recomputed the unchanged fee-free 10-A trade:1000-100000/110=90.9090909B and average 9.090909B/A."
        ]
      }
    }
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "id": "pricing",
      "label": "Uniswap v2 pricing",
      "publisher": "Uniswap",
      "url": "https://developers.uniswap.org/docs/protocols/v2/concepts/pricing",
      "locator": "Pricing Trades; Exact Input; Exact Output",
      "note": "Reserve-dependent quotes, trade bounds and external price observations.",
      "version": "Uniswap v2",
      "checkedAt": "2026-10-02",
      "recordId": "source-5cf943a6c62eb740",
      "contentSha256": null
    },
    {
      "id": "pair",
      "label": "Uniswap v2 pair source",
      "publisher": "Uniswap",
      "url": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Uniswap/v2-core/v1.0.1/contracts/UniswapV2Pair.sol",
      "locator": "mint; burn; swap; _mintFee",
      "note": "Reserve accounting, LP shares, fee-adjusted invariant and optional protocol fee.",
      "version": "v2-core v1.0.1",
      "checkedAt": "2026-10-02",
      "recordId": "source-5651ae58cdcb25c2",
      "contentSha256": null
    },
    {
      "id": "revert",
      "label": "EIP-140: REVERT instruction",
      "publisher": "Ethereum Improvement Proposals",
      "url": "https://eips.ethereum.org/EIPS/eip-140",
      "locator": "Specification; Test Cases",
      "note": "Reverting rolls back state but does not refund work already executed; unused gas is not all consumed.",
      "version": "EIP-140 final",
      "checkedAt": "2026-10-02",
      "recordId": "source-ccab9c4be966af8f",
      "contentSha256": null
    },
    {
      "id": "edition-uniswap-limit",
      "label": "UniswapX overview",
      "publisher": "Uniswap",
      "url": "https://docs.uniswap.org/contracts/uniswapx/overview",
      "locator": "Signed orders; Fillers; Dutch auctions",
      "note": "Signed order execution through fillers; execution conditions are mechanism-specific.",
      "version": null,
      "checkedAt": "2026-10-02T17:21:47.712Z",
      "contentSha256": "6a3ba9665629f01f100ebd0f2e4ec09713bcc8d1d5acd4c5b12e511e3d4ff56f",
      "recordId": "source-2ffecd3d628a4d03"
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  ],
  "related": {
    "articles": [
      "swap-routing-and-aggregators",
      "maximal-extractable-value",
      "constant-product-pools",
      "sandwich-attacks"
    ],
    "dossiers": [],
    "wallets": []
  },
  "revisionHistory": [
    {
      "date": "2026-10-02",
      "kind": "published",
      "summary": "First publication after primary-source research and independent automated verification."
    },
    {
      "date": "2026-10-02",
      "kind": "prepublication-review",
      "summary": "Before first publication, independent review checked and revised: sections, sources. Compared pricing guide trade bounds and v2 curve with the article’s explicit comparison conventions. Recomputed average-rate gap 9.09%, 1% haircut 99 from100, and 5% haircut95. Verified tolerance changes permitted minimum rather than quoted output or liquidity. Added EIP-140 evidence for included-failure gas and a Swap Lab exercise. No universal UI percentage convention is claimed."
    },
    {
      "date": "2026-10-02",
      "kind": "substantive-edit",
      "summary": "Expanded explanation: Calculate the minimum acceptable output explicitly. Worked examples are illustrative; source checks and independent verification are recorded separately."
    }
  ],
  "citation": "Degrees of Satoshi editorial project. “Slippage and price impact: two reasons a swap rate can differ.” Published 2026-10-02; updated 2026-10-02. https://degreesofsatoshi.com/encyclopedia/slippage-and-price-impact/"
}