SushiSwap Review: What It Is, How It Works, and Alternatives in 2025

When you want to swap crypto without using a centralized exchange, SushiSwap, a decentralized exchange (DEX) built on Ethereum that lets users trade tokens directly from their wallets. Also known as Sushi, it started as a fork of Uniswap and quickly became one of the most used DeFi platforms. Unlike banks or platforms like Binance, SushiSwap doesn’t hold your money. You connect your wallet—like MetaMask—and trade directly with smart contracts. That means no sign-ups, no KYC, and no one can freeze your funds. But it also means you’re fully responsible for what happens.

SushiSwap’s big innovation was adding liquidity mining, a system that rewards users who lock their crypto into trading pools with SUSHI tokens. If you put ETH and USDT into a pool, you earn fees from every trade that happens in that pool—and you get SUSHI tokens on top. It was a huge draw in 2020 and 2021, pulling billions in value. But over time, the rewards dropped, and many users noticed that trading fees were higher than on newer platforms. That’s when alternatives like Uniswap, the original DEX that SushiSwap copied, now with better fee structures and lower slippage. started pulling users back. Other options like Ref Finance on NEAR or KCCSwap on KuCoin Community Chain offer cheaper trades, faster confirmations, and sometimes better rewards.

Today, SushiSwap still works. You can swap tokens, stake in yield pools, and even use its lending feature. But it’s no longer the fastest or cheapest option. If you’re just swapping ETH for DAI, you might save money and time elsewhere. If you’re holding SUSHI tokens and want to earn more, check the current yield—some pools still pay decently, but many are barely worth the gas fee. The platform hasn’t died, but it’s no longer leading the pack. The real story isn’t about SushiSwap itself—it’s about how DeFi moves fast. What’s hot today gets replaced tomorrow if it doesn’t improve. That’s why the posts below cover not just SushiSwap, but also what’s next: failed DEXes like OpenSwap, new platforms like Ref Finance, and how to avoid losing money on platforms that look good on paper but have zero trading volume.