AERO token: what AERO and VELO holders need to do

What happened. According to The Block, on October 21, 2026 Aerodrome and Velodrome, which ran on Base and OP Mainnet, merged into Aero. The protocol runs on seven networks: Ethereum, Base, Robinhood Chain, Ink, OP Mainnet, Arc and Arbitrum. The old AERO and VELO tokens move into one new AERO token, and veAERO and veVELO become sAERO. The AERO ticker stays, but the token now lives on a new contract.

Old vs new token. The official upgrade page says AERO converts to AERO 1 to 1 and VELO to AERO at 0.044 per VELO. Kraken adds that this is a rounded figure and the exact rate is set in the contract at deployment. If you do nothing, the old token does not vanish, but there is no upgrade deadline and the legacy project sites may shut down later.

If your tokens are in your own wallet. New AERO arrives after you upgrade on the project's site, and nothing converts automatically. You need a little ETH for fees: on Base for Aerodrome, on OP Mainnet for Velodrome. The upgrade is irreversible, and unclaimed rewards cannot be recovered after it. A veNFT with active votes cannot be upgraded: reset the votes and claim rewards first. Your sAERO position gets a new ID.

If your tokens are on an exchange. The project says to follow the exchange's own process. Coinbase, per Crypto Briefing, converted balances on November 2-4: AERO 1 to 1, VELO at about 0.044, no fee. VELO trading is disabled, AERO trading continues. Kraken paused deposits on October 30 at 14:00 UTC, ran its migration window on November 2-6, needs no action from clients, and no longer supports VELODROME afterward. Swyftx swapped the contract on November 3 from 11:00 Sydney time (AEST) at 1 to 1; deposits and withdrawals of old AERO were paused during the swap.

The main trap. Both Kraken and Swyftx warn that old deposit addresses no longer work and sending to them can mean losing funds. Use only the new address shown in your account. Open orders were cancelled during the swap.

What we could not verify. CoinMarketCap says Crypto.com completed its move to the new token on November 8, but we did not find Crypto.com's own notice. We also did not open anything about Binance. Check your exchange's own announcement: dates and rules differ.

Our exchange pages: Coinbase (https://freekonomist.com/exchanges/coinbase/) and Kraken (https://freekonomist.com/exchanges/kraken/). They show trust rating, licenses and reserves.

Confirmed facts

• On October 21, 2026 Aerodrome and Velodrome merged into Aero, launched on seven networks: Ethereum, Base, Robinhood Chain, Ink, OP Mainnet, Arc and Arbitrum.^[2]
• The old AERO and VELO tokens move into one new AERO token, and veAERO and veVELO become sAERO.^[1][2]
• AERO converts to AERO 1 to 1, VELO to AERO at 0.044 per token.^[1]
• The upgrade is irreversible, there is no upgrade deadline, but legacy interfaces may shut down later.^[1]
• In a self-custody upgrade, new AERO arrives after you upgrade on the project's site; nothing converts automatically.^[1]
• A veNFT with active votes cannot be upgraded; unclaimed rewards cannot be recovered after the upgrade.^[1]
• For tokens held on an exchange, the project says to follow that exchange's own process and timeline.^[1]
• Coinbase converts AERO 1 to 1 and VELO at about 0.044 new AERO on November 2-4, 2026, with no fee; VELO trading is disabled, AERO trading continues.^[3]
• Kraken: deposits paused from October 30 at 14:00 UTC, migration window November 2-6, no action needed, VELODROME no longer supported afterward; the VELODROME rate is about 0.044, with the exact value set in the contract.^[4]
• Swyftx: contract swap on November 3, 2026 at 11:00 AEST at a 1:1 ratio; old deposit and withdrawal addresses are no longer supported.^[5]
• CoinGecko shows a new AERO token page on Base with a new contract in place of the old one.^[6]
• CoinMarketCap says that on November 8, 2026 Crypto.com supported trading, deposits and withdrawals of the new token.^[7]

Implications

• ConfirmedExchange holders mostly do nothing, but should follow their exchange's announcements.
• ConfirmedOld AERO sent to an exchange address after the swap may be lost. This follows from Kraken and Swyftx warnings.
• Our readingThe AERO trend is mostly driven by this transition and people looking for instructions. This is our inference.

Still unknown

• Crypto.com's own notice about the transition: we found only a CoinMarketCap summary
• How the swap went on Binance and other exchanges: we did not open their notices
• The exact VELO rate: sources say about 0.044, the final value is set in the contract
• When the old Aerodrome and Velodrome interfaces will close

Who it affects

Global. People who hold AERO or VELO on an exchange or in their own wallet

Sources

1. Aero (Dromos Labs): Aero Upgrade and Launch Hub October 22, 2026 · official
2. The Block: Aerodrome and Velodrome merge to launch Aero across seven blockchain networks October 22, 2026 · media
3. Crypto Briefing: Coinbase will support the AERO and VELO token migration from November 2 to 4, 2026 · media
4. Kraken: Notice of Aerodrome (AERO) and Velodrome (VELODROME) migration to Aero · official
5. Swyftx: Contract swap: Aerodrome Finance (AERO) - 3 November 2026 · official
6. CoinGecko: Aero (AERO) price and token page · media
7. CoinMarketCap: Aerodrome Finance latest updates · media