Uniswap Developer Unveils Own Layer-2 Network, Unichain, Built on Optimism Tech

According to a recent press release, Unichain, its newly adopted name, is scheduled to launch on a private testing network tomorrow (Thursday).

In a conversation with CoinDesk, Hayden Adams, creator of Uniswap and head of Uniswap Labs, expressed that the driving force behind the project is a desire for experiences to offer immediate satisfaction.

Another Layer-2 Arrives

Over the last year, layer-2 networks have multiplied rapidly, sparking debate within the industry about increasing exhaustion and division. Some experts predict that in just a few years, there could be thousands of these layer-2 networks. In fact, teams are currently working on creating layer-3 networks to operate over the existing layer-2 networks.

Adams contends that the exhaustion stems from the imbalance between the number of individuals working on infrastructure compared to those developing applications for that infrastructure. This results in an abundance of platforms needing developers, while there are relatively few developers searching for a platform.

His argument for Unichain is that, just as Uniswap is a liquidity hub on the Ethereum network, Unichain could be a DeFi hub for many chains, as part of various chains that are plugged into Optimism’s Superchain ecosystem.

According to Adams, our goal is to create items and interactions that eventually resemble the actual world, making them intuitive and easy to use without requiring extensive learning. (Adams shared this with CoinDesk.)

Technical details

In my role as a researcher, I’m excited to share that the Uniswap Labs team is set to introduce innovative technological elements to the chain. Collaboratively developed with the Ethereum R&D team Flashbots, these features include a Trusted Execution Environment (TEE) for block construction, ensuring a secure environment where blocks are built without tampering, and a computing area designed to maintain the integrity of transactions and code. Additionally, we’re working on a community validation network that will further bolster the security and transparency of our platform.

In a recent press statement, it was explained that the TEE (Transaction Execution Environment) is designed to enhance transaction ordering clarity, with intervals ranging from 200 to 250 milliseconds. This represents approximately one-fifth to one-fourth of a second, which significantly outperforms the current 12 seconds on the Ethereum mainnet and about two seconds on most layer-2 platforms.

According to Adams, reducing the user’s experience time from two seconds to just 250 milliseconds will make a significant difference.

Speeding up the processing of blocks may limit chances for maximizing extractable value (MEV), a scenario where automated trading bots can execute trades ahead of those queued on the blockchain, prior to their confirmation.

In their press release, the Uniswap team explained that the Community Validation Network, due in 2025, aims to aid in decentralization by enabling full nodes to authenticate blocks using UNI tokens as a stake.

Using this method minimizes the chance that suggested sequences may contain contradictory or flawed sections, which might postpone the confirmation of transactions or put users at risk by engaging with incomplete blocks.