Uniswap Labs has introduced Unichain as a new Ethereum Layer 2 solution to dominate the decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem. Uniswap highlighted Unichain as a blockchain solution with cross-chain interoperability, decentralized validator network, and fast speeds.
Transactions related to Unichain
Uniswap (UNI) and other DeFi protocols have made great strides recently. However, DeFi protocols built on Ethereum still face challenges such as slow speeds and high transaction costs.
Uniswap said the creation of Unichain is a response to solve these challenges and compete for market share. The team developed Unichain as an open-source blockchain that other chains can adopt.
– Advertisement –
Uniswap worked with Flashbots and Optimism to create Unichain’s technical architecture. Unchain is designed to introduce fast and near-instantaneous transaction settlement capabilities.
This increases market efficiency and reduces loss of value up to Maximum Extractable Value (MEV). The Unichain testnet goes live today, and the mainnet will be published much later.
Unichain’s testnet launches with a block time of 1 second. However, Uniswap noted that Unichain’s speed will soon increase to 200-250 ms sub-block times.
In addition to increased speed, Unichain offers seamless multi-chain swapping. Built on Superchain, Unichain facilitates native interoperability and enables fast and secure cross-chain transactions.
Unichain also supports standards such as ERC-7683, allowing seamless swaps between all chains. Overall, Unichain is designed to leverage and accelerate Ethereum’s scaling roadmap.
This means that in the short term, Unichain reduces transaction costs by approximately 95% compared to the Ethereum network.
Can Uniswap compete with Base, Polygon and Arbitrum?
In recent years, Ethereum scaling solutions have gained attention in the cryptocurrency market. Developers and researchers around the world are spending hundreds of hours solving Ethereum’s scalability problems by releasing new layer 2 solutions.
The launch of Unichain therefore marks an additional entrant into the already popular L2 ecosystem. According to L2Beat data, the number of Layer 2 protocols looking to help Ethereum scale is currently 105.
Arbitrum, Base, and Optimism’s OP Mainnet are ranked as the top three L2 solutions by Total Value Locked (TVL). Arbitrum, Base, and Optimism have TVLs of $13 billion, $7.2 billion, and $5.8 billion, respectively.
Polygon zkEVM is also a top L2 scaling company on Ethereum, with $69 million in TVL. Unichain is in an advantageous position to compete with Base, Polygon, and Arbitrum due to its schematic characteristics.
Unichain, like most L2s, relies on a single sequencer. However, Unichain introduces further decentralization by allowing full nodes to help validate blocks by staking Uniswap’s native token, UNI.
This approach avoids the possibility of the sequencer presenting conflicting or invalid blocks, which could expose the user to financial risk.
Will there be new Unichain tokens?
Uniswap Labs did not mention the introduction of native tokens to Unichain. However, with the release of Unichain tokens in the future, blockchain solutions may gain traction.
For now, UNI Stakers serve as a second layer of security on the Unichain platform. UNI stakers validate each block of transactions that the sequencer builds through their participation in Unichain’s validation network. The newly strengthened role sent the price of UNI soaring, rising 15% in 24 hours to $8.330.
