- UNI token rose 15% in a day, driven by the launch of Uniswap’s layer-2 network, Unichain.
- Uniswap’s daily transactions increased by 1,582%, and active addresses rose by 587%.
- Over $1.5 million in leveraged UNI positions were liquidated in the last 12 hours.
The governance token of Uniswap, UNI, posted a significant 15% daily gain on October 10, driven by the launch of its own layer-2 network, Unichain. Over the past week, UNI has risen 25%, while its 30-day increase stands at 23%, marking a standout performance in the crypto market.
The surge in UNI’s price followed Uniswap Labs’ announcement of Unichain, an application-specific layer-2 blockchain built on Optimism’s Superchain. Unichain is designed to offer faster, more cost-efficient transactions and improved interoperability between blockchain networks. Initial block times will be one second, with plans to reduce them to 250 milliseconds, making transaction experiences almost instant.
Massive Network Activity Boost
Unichain’s introduction has resulted in a notable spike in Uniswap’s network activity. According to data from CryptoQuant, the number of daily transactions on the network jumped from 40 on October 9 to 673 the following day—a 1,582% increase. The number of active addresses also surged by 587%, signaling heightened adoption and demand for UNI tokens.
UNI’s trading volume skyrocketed 418% to $583.2 million in the last 24 hours, pushing the token’s market capitalization to $5 billion and securing its 20th position on CoinMarketCap. This rally led to the liquidation of over $1.5 million in leveraged UNI positions, including $1.2 million in short liquidations, as traders scrambled to adjust to the sudden price movement.
Unichain’s Broader Impact on the Market
The launch of Unichain promises further integration with other layer-2 networks within the Superchain ecosystem, such as Coinbase’s Base and Synthentix’s SNAXchain. Uniswap’s layer-2 ambitions could continue driving increased network activity and further price gains for UNI as more users adopt the platform.
