Sushi: Driving User Growth and Trading Volume with Dual Incentive Programs

What is Sushi?

Sushi is a decentralized exchange (DEX) built on the Ethereum blockchain. It utilizes an automated market maker (AMM) system, allowing users to trade tokens without intermediaries. Liquidity is provided by users who deposit their assets into pools, earning a share of trading fees as rewards. Launched in 2020 as a fork of Uniswap, Sushi has rapidly gained popularity within the DeFi community, offering a wide range of trading pairs and enabling users to maintain control of their funds through smart contracts.

The Challenge

Sushi aimed to grow its platform by reaching more users and increasing trading volume. At the same time, they wanted to reward loyal community members, including offering gas rebates to active traders, while acquiring new users through trusted referrals.

To achieve this, they needed a solution that could handle dual incentive programs, catering to end users and referrers, across multiple chains while being easy to manage.

The Solution

1. Conversion Events

Sushi launched two targeted programs to incentivize users:

• Gas Rebate Incentive Program: This program rewarded active traders with gas rebates for transactions of $100 or more. Available across Optimism, Arbitrum, Polygon, and Base, it lowered trading costs, encouraged participation, and strengthened loyalty among Sushi’s community.
• Revenue Sharing Referral Program: Designed to drive user acquisition through trusted referrals, this program allowed participants to earn revenue from trades generated by their referrals.

2. Payout Rules

• Gas Rebate Program: Eligible users were reimbursed for gas costs, lowering participation barriers and strengthening engagement.
• Referral Program:
  • Sushi retained a 0.25% fee per trade and shared 40% of it as rewards.
  • Of that share, 75% went to referrers, and 25% to referred users.
  • Payouts were issued in Base, ensuring a smooth cross-chain rewards process.

3. Incentives Hub

Sushi leveraged Fuul’s Hosted Incentives Hub to streamline the management of their dual incentive program. This provided valuable tools for both the project team and users:

• For Sushi:
  • Simplified the implementation and management of the programs.
  • Enabled quick scaling and iteration without the need for additional development resources.
  • The flexibility to publish a landing page quickly and easily, without needing any coding or additional development resources.
• For Users:
  • An easy-to-use platform to understand the program rules.
  • The ability to create or edit referral links effortlessly.
  • A clear overview of rewards history for both programs.
  • The convenience of claiming rewards across chains in a single transaction.

This streamlined approach allowed Sushi to launch and scale their programs efficiently while focusing on engaging their users and growing their platform.

Conclusion

Sushi’s incentive programs boosted user engagement, trading volume, and community loyalty across multiple chains. By using Fuul’s Hosted Incentives Hub, they launched quickly, scaled easily, and rewarded users effectively, all without the need for heavy development work.

The Gas Rebate Incentive Program lowered trading costs, while the Revenue Sharing Referral Program built trust and drove organic growth. The Incentives Hub made it easy for both SushiSwap and its users to manage and track rewards, creating a seamless experience.

This case shows how thoughtful incentive programs can achieve more than just growth, they can strengthen communities, reward loyalty, and set the stage for long-term success. For projects looking to scale efficiently, the key is finding tools that let you focus on what truly matters: building for your users.