- Uniswap has launched the mainnet of its Ethereum scaling layer Unichain
- It intends to use the network to power faster and cheaper DeFi activities
- Unichain will have a speed of one-second block times with plans to reduce it to 250 milliseconds
DeFi platform Uniswap has opened its recently announced Ethereum layer 2, Unichain, to the public “to make DeFi faster” and cheaper. Uniswap said the network is “built for cross-chain liquidity” and supports DeFi apps, token launches, swaps, and liquidity providers. The network has a transaction speed of one-second block times with plans to lower it to 250 milliseconds, which will make Unichain the faster decentralized platform.
80+ Apps Live on Unichain
Unichain disclosed that it already powers over 80 apps from and has handled more than 88 million test transactions. In an X post, Unichain said it’s 95% cheaper to transact on the layer 2 than on the Ethereum mainnet.
Fast with low fees ⚡️
Unichain launches with 1-second block times and gas costs that are ~95% cheaper than Ethereum L1
And with 250ms sub-blocks coming soon, users can expect improved UX and market efficiency
— Unichain (@unichain) February 11, 2025
It revealed that the network prioritizes decentralization, adding that it’s the “first L2 to launch as a stage 1 rollup on day one […] with permissionless fault proofs.”
Uniswap Labs founder Hayden Adams said that Unichain “is built differently.” Uniswap Labs disclosed it’ll waive “all interface fees for swaps” for a few months. The network has already integrated USDC and plans to support other stablecoins.
Unichain is working on upgrades that would, among other things, boost its efficiency and lower the amount lost to Maximal Extractable Value (MEV). It’s also preparing to launch the Unichain Validation Network to allow anyone to run a node and verify transactions, which it said will increase decentralization.
Uniswap Boosts DeFi Efforts
The layer 2 network adds to the DeFi platform’s efforts to venture deeper into the blockchain and DeFi world. The Unichain mainnet comes barely a week after Uniswap Labs launched Uniswap V4 on 12 blockchains. Uniswap said it’s 99.99% cheaper to operate liquidity pools on Uniswap V4.
With Unichain offering one-second block times and a possibility to lower it to 250 milliseconds, it’s to be seen whether the high speeds will attract DeFi user and developers.
