[Base] Solver returns NoLiquidity for DERC20 tokens despite active Uniswap V4 pools

[Axiom89]

Body:

Description

CoW Protocol solvers on Base return NoLiquidity for Clanker's DERC20 token standard, despite these tokens having significant liquidity in Uniswap V4 pools ($100K+).

Root Cause

DERC20 contracts (used by Clanker's newer token deployments) include a custom _update() override with a PoolLocked() revert path. The pool address is set to 0x000...dead and the lock is purely cosmetic — it never triggers during normal transfers/swaps. However, CoW solvers appear to simulate the token transfer, encounter the revert path in static analysis, and conservatively skip the token.

Standard ClankerToken contracts (Clanker's older contract type) do not have this custom _update() and route through CoW solvers without issues.

Reproduction

1. Go to CoW Swap on Base
2. Try to swap any token (e.g. USDC or WETH) → CRED (Helixa Cred): 0xab3f23c2abcb4e12cc8b593c218a7ba64ed17ba3
3. The quote returns NoLiquidity despite the token having ~$120K+ in a V4 pool

Expected Behavior

Solver should recognize that the PoolLocked() revert in _update() is unreachable during standard Uniswap V4 swaps and route the trade normally.

Impact

This is becoming increasingly common as Clanker (one of the most active token deployers on Base) has shifted to the DERC20 contract type for new launches. Examples of affected tokens:

• CRED (Helixa Cred) — 0xab3f23c2abcb4e12cc8b593c218a7ba64ed17ba3 — ~$120K liq
• 0xDP (0xDirectPing) — 0x0a3a6eef246ed15dbf97f8a237e20a3bc091cba3 — ~$170K liq

All future Clanker DERC20 deployments will have the same issue.

Detection

You can distinguish the two contract types on Blockscout:

• DERC20 → has custom _update() with PoolLocked() → CoW can't route
• ClankerToken → standard _update() → CoW routes fine

Environment

• Chain: Base (8453)
• CoW Swap UI + API
• Uniswap V4 pools

Related

• Tweet with initial report: https://x.com/projectmoltino/status/2025688694296813628

[m-sz]

Hello @Axiom89 Axiom, thanks for filing the issue with us.
I have just attempted a bunch of quotes selling USDC for CRED and they seem to be working fine. Here is the order on CoW explorer: https://explorer.cow.fi/base/orders/0x7ddf1bf64a5ec9de6eb2bd83afb5c5044bc39852152e8563d1ae48de15d514766406ce57254d45d503c7cb3e729aab9ddbbb3ec269a83e9c

When looking at the logs it seems the quoting for DERC20 tokens has just become available due to kipseli starting to support it.

Most of the solvers (baseline included) do not support them, as You described. I'll see what can be done about that.