Trade on Unichain with Matcha and experience the best of Uniswap Labs’ new L2. Built for DeFi performance, Unichain is the first L2 to launch as a stage 1 rollup is informed by Uniswap Lab’s experience building one of the most used protocols in DeFi. Read on to learn more about why Uniswap Labs built its own Layer 2, and why you should try it out!

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Why did Uniswap launch Unichain?

Uniswap is one of the most popular trading protocols in crypto, with billions of dollars in volume traded each day. It already supports swaps on many networks including Ethereum, so why has Uniswap Labs decided to launch Unichain? To optimize for DeFi, naturally.

Unichain is a Layer 2 blockchain and is part of the Optimism Superchain. It has been specifically configured for decentralized finance (DeFi), attempting to remove limitations present in existing networks, such as cost, speed, fragmented liquidity, and MEV.

Unichain is launching with 1 second block times and transactions that are ~95% cheaper than Ethereum. They’ll soon be introducing 250ms sub-blocks through TEE-based block building and a decentralized validation through the Unichain Validation Network. All these advancements will allow traders like you to focus on your positions without worrying about losing money to potential technical pitfalls.

There are many other successful Layer 2 solutions like Arbitrum, Base, and Optimism that have vastly improved Ethereum’s scalability and transaction costs—and Unichain will also benefit from low fees and high-throughput— but each chain has its own specific use case, and Unichain has positioned itself well.

What makes Unichain different from Arbitrum, Base and other L2s?

Unlike general-purpose L2s, Unichain isn’t just about scalability—it’s purpose-built for the broader DeFi community. Key features of Unichain will include TEE-based verifiable block building and a decentralized Unichain Validation Network (UVN).

Verifiable block building

Soon after launch Unichain will implement Rollup-Boost and TEE-based block building which will enforce sequencer-builder separation by building blocks in a trusted execution environment (TEE). This advancement, built by Flashbots, will ultimately lead to fairer and more transparent transaction ordering. This solution reduces harmful MEV and helps provide higher confidence that transactions are processed according to set rules. 

Unichain’s decentralized validation network (UVN)

On the Unichain roadmap is also the Unichain Validation Network (UVN) which will let anyone run a UVN node and verify blocks, further decentralizing the chain. By allowing more parties to validate blocks, Unichain enables faster finality, and furthers decentralization. Each validator is required to stake UNI on Ethereum, providing an economic incentive to discourage malicious activity.

Interoperability

Unichain is leading the charge on cross-chain interoperability. Unichain is prioritizing implementation of native interoperability, which will enable single-block, cross-chain message passing among Superchain L2s when it goes live later this year. Additionally, initiatives like ERC-7683, co-written by the Uniswap Lab’s team, are pushing progress forward to enable cheap and secure cross-chain transactions.

What the future holds for Unichain

Unichain is another Layer 2 in an ocean of L2s, but it’s an L2 optimized for DeFi, with a host of novel features that could easily push it to the top. Whether you’re a trader, liquidity provider, user, or developer, Unichain has a lot to offer, starting with lower fees and decentralization by design.

Unichain is more than just another L2, it is well-positioned to become a leading L2 for trading and liquidity on Ethereum, and it may even set a standard for other chains to embrace the decentralization crypto was founded on.