Uniswap Labs, the developer behind the most popular decentralized cryptocurrency exchange, today announced the launch of its own application-specific layer 2 blockchain network, Unichain.

The company said the new blockchain network is geared toward helping build a scaling solution for Ethereum, a popular blockchain for decentralized finance, or DeFi, to help lower transaction times and fees. It will join myriad L2 solutions that have been built to increase speed and affordability on Ethereum, which is often cluttered with transactions.

“Unichain will deliver the speed and cost savings already enabled by L2s, but with better access to liquidity across chains and more decentralization,” said Chief Executive Hayden Adams. 

A layer 2 blockchain is a separate chain that works alongside another and then submits transactions to the primary blockchain. Ethereum began its road to scaling with roll-ups, a technology that allows transactions to be “rolled up” on a separate chain and then submitted all at once. Unichain said it’s accelerating Ethereum’s scaling roadmap by moving smart contract execution to its network, which will help lower transaction costs by 95% compared to Ethereum in the short term.

Decentralized finance, the focus of Uniswap Labs, uses peer-to-peer transactions executed using blockchain technology to allow people to participate in financial services without the need for middlemen such as banks or brokerages. It includes the buying, selling and trading of tokens and even more complex services such as investment, lending, flash loans, margin trading and prediction markets.

Uniswap said that bringing the next generation of markets online not only requires transactions to be cheaper but executed in a timely manner. The company said Unichain will help solve that by launching with one-second block times. Additionally, the platform will soon introduce 250-millisecond “sub-blocks” capable of creating the user experience of instant transaction times

This improvement came in collaboration with the block builder Flashbots Ltd., which uses a trusted execution environment to improve speed, transparency and prevent failed transactions. The L2 is also part of the Optimism Superchain, an Ethereum scaling solution, and Uniswap partnered with OP Labs to implement native interoperability to allow the secure movement of assets and data between chains.

Unichain is currently in the testnet phase, meaning that the company is providing developers a chance to build applications that will work on the network before the full launch. Developers can find a full suite of resources on the company’s website with a builder toolkit.

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