Moderate risk — Avalanche's leading DEX with strong fee generation and ve(3,3) governance, but xPHAR exit burn creates governance lock-in and bribery market dynamics could extract value at the expense of long-term health
Top Risks
1
Pharaoh V3's xPHAR transition (replacing vePHAR) introduces a 50% exit burn penalty, creating lock-in dynamics that could trap governance participants and reduce market liquidity during stress events.
2
As a RAMSES fork on Avalanche, Pharaoh inherits both the benefits and risks of the concentrated liquidity ve(3,3) model — bribery markets and governance extractable value are well-documented failure modes of ve(3,3) protocols.
3
Avalanche C-Chain DEX concentration in Pharaoh creates single-point-of-failure risk. If Pharaoh's liquidity is compromised, Avalanche traders face significantly degraded trading conditions across many pairs.
Risk Breakdown
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Pharaoh V3 safe to use?
Pharaoh V3 receives a C+ risk grade (37/100) from Hindenrank, where lower scores indicate lower risk. Moderate risk — Avalanche's leading DEX with strong fee generation and ve(3,3) governance, but xPHAR exit burn creates governance lock-in and bribery market dynamics could extract value at the expense of long-term health Pharaoh V3 is the leading decentralized exchange on Avalanche, using concentrated liquidity (similar to Uniswap V3) combined with a ve(3,3) governance model. Users can provide liquidity in specific price ranges to earn trading fees, or lock PHAR tokens into xPHAR to vote on which pools receive emission rewards and earn a 50% share of all trading fees. With approximately $28M in TVL and $9.55M in annualized fees, Pharaoh serves as Avalanche's central liquidity hub. The V3 upgrade introduces xPHAR with a notable 50% token burn penalty for exiting governance positions — designed to create long-term alignment but also creating strong lock-in. As a fork of RAMSES, it inherits battle-tested concentrated liquidity code but also the known risks of ve(3,3) governance models including bribery market dynamics.
What are the main risks of using Pharaoh V3?
The key risks identified for Pharaoh V3 are: (1) The xPHAR governance system burns 50% of your tokens if you decide to exit your governance position. This means you lose half your investment just by leaving, creating a strong lock-in that makes it very expensive to change your mind. (2) ve(3,3) models like Pharaoh's are vulnerable to bribery markets where outside parties pay voters to redirect token emissions to specific pools, potentially enriching a few at the expense of overall protocol health. (3) As the dominant DEX on Avalanche, Pharaoh concentrates liquidity risk — if the protocol is exploited, Avalanche traders across many token pairs would face dramatically increased slippage and disruption.
What is Pharaoh V3's risk score breakdown?
Pharaoh V3 scores 37/100 across eight risk dimensions: Mechanism Novelty: 5/15, Interaction Severity: 8/20, Oracle Surface: 3/10, Documentation Gaps: 3/10, Track Record: 8/15, Scale Exposure: 3/10, Regulatory Risk: 4/10, Vitality Risk: 3/10. The highest risk area is Track Record at 8/15.
How does Pharaoh V3 compare to other DEX protocols?
Among 111 rated DEX protocols on Hindenrank, Pharaoh V3 ranks #71 by safety (lowest risk score = safest). Its 37/100 risk score and C+ grade place it in the middle tier of DEX protocols.
Has Pharaoh V3 ever been hacked or exploited?
Pharaoh V3 scores 8/15 on the Track Record risk dimension, indicating some history of security incidents or exploits. Higher scores reflect more severe or frequent incidents. Review the full risk report for details.