Uniswap Labs Launches Unichain Layer-2, Sending UNI Token Soaring 20%

Another day, another Ethereum layer-2. This time, Uniswap launched Unichain, providing faster block confirmation times, cross-chain interoperability, and a decentralised validator network.

Layer-2 solution Unichain was announced by Uniswap on Friday. It promises faster block confirmation times, cross-chain interoperability, and a decentralised validator network.

Following the announcement, Uniswap’s token, UNI, rallied over 20%, reaching a daily peak of US$8.43 (AU$12.50). However, the token later pared some gains and is currently up 23.6% over the past week, trading at US$8.11.

This counters the current bearish trend in the crypto market, which saw its market cap decrease by 1.5% over the past 24 hours to US$2.21T (AU$3.2T). Bitcoin also fell below the US$60K level today, but the bulls managed to regain control of it, pushing BTC’s price north of US$60.250 (AU$89.338).

Another Layer-2

In case you missed it, another layer-2 has been announced. And like the others, it promises to change the game.

very brave of you guys to launch an L2. nobody is launching L2 nowadays. i was talking to my friends yesterday and was just saying how we don’t have enough L2s.

So what does Unichain offer?

Unichain will feature a trusted execution environment (TEE) for block building and a community validation network. The TEE was notably developed in collaboration with Flashbots, a well-known Ethereum research organisation that focuses on features such as mitigating the negative effects of maximal extractable value (MEV).

The TEE is designed to reduce transaction block-building times to around 200-250 milliseconds, which is significantly faster than the 12-second blocks on Ethereum’s mainnet or the two seconds on other layer-2 networks. This is important because faster blocks mean less risk of automated bots exploiting transaction delays (which is the MEV I mentioned above).

Enhancing Cross-Chain Interoperability

Later on, a community validation network will be launched by Unichain in 2025, allowing full nodes to stake UNI tokens and help verify blocks.

While any node operator can participate by staking UNI tokens, only the largest UNI holders — such as the Uniswap Foundation and early investors — will likely be the initial validators, the project’s white paper states.

Furthermore, Uniswap will be leveraging ERC-7683 for cross-chain trading, reducing the need to move its liquidity from Ethereum to Unichain. This is a new token standard proposed by Uniswap Labs in collaboration with Across Protocol. It primarily aims to enhance cross-chain interoperability, enabling seamless transactions between blockchains.

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