Uniswap’s newly launched Ethereum layer-2 community, Unichain, was the fastest-growing blockchain in its debut month, in keeping with blockchain information agency Nansen.
Unichain, which launched its mainnet on Feb. 11, noticed 236,452 energetic addresses in its first month, in keeping with blockchain analytics agency Nansen. Whereas spectacular for a brand new community, Unichain’s consumer base stays small in comparison with Solana’s 112 million complete customers and the roughly 19 million energetic customers on Base and BNB Chain.
Berachain has extra energetic addresses, however Unichain’s DEX quantity dominates. Supply: Nansen
Nonetheless, Unichain has already emerged as a serious participant in decentralized trade (DEX) quantity, recording $217.7 billion — rating third within the {industry} and surpassing Ethereum’s base layer at $91.2 billion.
Uniswap surges to {industry}’s prime three in DEX quantity within the month after debut. Supply: Nansen
Berachain, which debuted in early February, reported a 30-day DEX quantity of $3.78 billion, inserting it eighth within the {industry}. It had a a lot greater variety of energetic addresses than Unichain, which had 1.7 million.
Amongst established networks, BNB Chain noticed the one DEX quantity enhance, surging 161% to $233.9 billion, making it the second-largest by quantity.
Uniswap’s layer 2 launch reclaims DEX throne
Uniswap had been the biggest DEX for many of its existence, however excessive Ethereum fuel charges drove customers towards cheaper alternate options like Solana and BNB Chain — particularly through the current memecoin frenzy. Uniswap conceded the highest DEX spot to Solana-based Raydium in October and November 2024 because of this.
Associated: Uniswap debuts Unichain mainnet, joins crowded ETH L2 ecosystem
With the rise of Ethereum layer-2 options and the launch of Unichain, customers can now entry Uniswap’s companies with decrease charges and quicker transactions. On launch, Uniswap waived all interface charges for swaps, and the community boasted one-second block instances, with plans to cut back them to 250 milliseconds.
As of March 10, Uniswap has reclaimed its place as the highest DEX by complete worth locked (TVL), in keeping with DefiLlama.
Uniswap’s DEX TVL leads regardless of industry-wide struggles. Supply: DefiLlama
Solana’s cools amid memecoin decline
Trade-wide TVL has dropped from $138 billion in mid-December 2024 to $91.8 billion as of March 10, per DefiLlama.
DeFi actions gradual as memecoin hype quiets down. Supply: DefiLlama
In the meantime, Solana remained the chief in energetic addresses, transactions and DEX quantity, however its key metrics have declined prior to now 30 days, Nansen information reveals. Energetic addresses are down 19%, transactions have dropped 70% and DEX quantity has fallen 27%.
Solana has been the go-to community for memecoin buying and selling, with celebrities and even political figures launching tokens. Nonetheless, declining investor urge for food, bot exercise and rip-off allegations — such because the controversy surrounding the Argentine president-backed token linked to Hayden Davis and Libra — have weighed on sentiment. Solana’s token launch exercise and total market sentiment on memecoins have since dropped.
Journal: What Solana’s critics get proper… and what they get incorrect
