Uniswap’s UNI token rises 15% after Unichain Layer-2 launch, even as market sells off

Uniswap's governance token, UNI, experienced notable growth on 10 October, outperforming much of the cryptocurrency market. The token surged by 15% in a single day, following the introduction of Unichain, Uniswap's dedicated layer-2 network.

Over the past week, UNI has risen by 25%, and in the last 30 days, it has gained 23%. Additionally, its trading volume witnessed a remarkable increase, up 418%, with $583.2 million traded within 24 hours.

Unichain's Impact

The token’s strong performance follows Uniswap Labs' recent announcement of Unichain. The newly launched application-specific layer-2 network promises faster and more cost-effective transactions, alongside improved interoperability with other blockchain ecosystems. At launch, Unichain features one-second block times, with plans to further reduce block intervals to less than 250 milliseconds.

The initiative aims to make transactions nearly instant, enhancing the overall user experience. According to Uniswap Labs, “Unichain will launch with one-second block times, and will soon introduce 250ms 'sub-blocks' that will make user experiences feel instant."

Related reading：Uniswap Teases a "Super Big Event" with UNI Soaring Over 23%, Community Speculates

Built on Optimism's Superchain

Unichain is developed on Optimism’s Superchain infrastructure, allowing it to draw liquidity from other layer-2 networks such as Coinbase’s Base and Synthetix's SNAXchain. This integration offers traders the ability to engage seamlessly across networks.

In response to the launch, the price of UNI increased by more than 17% during intraday trading on 10 October, rising from $7.20 to a high of $8.46, according to Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView data.

Liquidation and Adoption Surge

However, with significant price movement comes volatility. Data from CoinGlass revealed that over the past 12 hours, UNI has become one of the most liquidated tokens, with more than $1.5 million in leveraged positions liquidated, including $1.2 million in short positions.

CryptoQuant data further highlights an increase in Uniswap’s network activity. The number of daily transactions surged from 40 on 9 October to 673 on 10 October, marking a significant 1,582% increase. Active addresses also grew by 587% over the same period, indicating rising demand for UNI tokens.