Highly unlikely, given the market perception of being a VC coin with no buybacks.
If UNI starts a buyback program and captures current hot narratives like perps, the chance of hitting $100 could improve.
The current leading narratives are prediction markets, perpetuals and stablecoins, sidelining platforms like Uniswap [UNI] that handle spot swaps.
As a result, perps-focused decentralized exchanges (DEXes) like Hyperliquid [HYPE], Aster [ASTER] have been doing massive volumes. But Uniswap could still make a rebound.
The platform now has UniswapX, an aggregator of DEXes that allows users to get the fastest and cheapest routes to trade.
With DeFi agents, real-world tokenization and stablecoin yields, these narratives could also fuel Uniswap’s growth.
If Uniswap captures the speculation meta via perps and prediction markets, a path towards $100 could be feasible. In fact, Jupiter [JUP] acts as Solana’s [SOL] liquidity base, like Uniswap does to the Ethereum [ETH] ecosystem.
But Jupiter is expanding to perps. Uniswap could benefit from all these narratives if it includes perps, too.
As of writing, UNI was valued at $8 and has been stuck in $4-$18 price range since 2024. It was down over 80% from the 2021 peak level of $44.
Assuming the Q4 rally plays out for altcoins and BTC dominance slips, UNI could eye $12 and the range-high at $17-$20 price zone. That would be 60% or 130% potential gain, respectively, if hit.
A bullish breakout from this two-year range could raise the odds of surging to last cycle’s $44 level.
But if the current sideways structure persists, then UNI could take a longer period to reach the $100 target.
That said, the DEX did an impressive amount of volume in H2.
The monthly DEX volume jumped from $91 billion in June to a peak of $143 billion in August. And revenues followed from $93 million to $160 million, rivalling even Hyperliquid.
However, there is no value accrual for UNI like Hyperliquid uses its revenue to buy back HYPE.
In fact, last month, Jeff Dorman took a swipe at Uniswap founder, stating that the UNI is a “nonsense token” unless they begin buybacks.
In short, a positive market sentiment (token buybacks) and capturing the ongoing narratives could be crucial for UNI’s range-breakout.
Without these catalysts, the altcoin could struggle to hit the $100 psychological level.
