- Unichain could redirect $500 million in fees.
- Uniswap Labs will control all MEV on the new network.
- MEV and staking bring new opportunities for users.
Monday, October 14, 2024, at the time of publication, the UNI price today is quoted at $7,99 with an increase of 1% in the last 24 hours and 10% in the last 7 days.
Uniswap Labs recently introduced its own layer-2 blockchain, dubbed Unichain, which promises to revolutionize not only its operations but also the benefits for UNI token holders. The innovation could generate around $500 million annually in fees that would previously have gone to the Ethereum network, according to industry estimates.
Michael Nadeau, founder of DeFi Report, detailed in an Oct. 13 X post that approximately $368 million that previously went to Ethereum validators could now be redirected to Uniswap Labs and potentially Uniswap token holders. “Uniswap Labs would also be able to control all of the Maximum Extractable Value (MEV) on Unichain, since all validators on the network are owned by them, unlike on the Ethereum network where validators can capture MEV,” Nadeau explained.
. @Uniswap generated nearly $1.3b of trading and settlement fees across 5 primary chains over the last year.
The protocol and token holders captured $0 of that value.
[100% went to Liquidity Providers, Ethereum Validators, MEV bots, and the L2 sequencers]
But with the launch… pic.twitter.com/vgpn7xjFky
— Michael Nadeau (@JustDeauIt) October 13, 2024
According to Nadeau, MEV accounted for about 10% of the total fees paid on Uniswap over the past year, amounting to about $100 million. “They will have the option to share some of that value with token holders as well,” he added. Additionally, Uniswap liquidity providers can benefit by participating in the liquidation and capture of MEV through staking.
Nadeau also highlighted that holders of Ethereum and Ether tokens could be the ones who suffer the most from the launch of Unichain, with a decrease in the number of ETH burned and fewer fees reverting to the main blockchain.
Over the past year, Uniswap has amassed over $1,3 billion in trading and settlement fees distributed across five major networks, including Ethereum, Optimism, BNB Chain, Base, and Polygon. Uniswap, recognized as the largest decentralized exchange by transaction volume, launched Unichain on Oct. 10, promising faster transactions, reduced costs, and better interoperability across different blockchain networks.
The introduction of Unichain has been met with divided opinions from decentralized finance (DeFi) experts, with some questioning the need for another layer 2 blockchain.