New Leader Emerges for Unichain and Uniswap’s Latest Iteration
The proprietary Layer 2 blockchain for Uniswap, known as Unichain, has now established itself as the foremost network for Uniswap version 4, outperforming Ethereum in terms of the volume of transactions processed.
Data Confirms Market Share Shift from Mid-April 2025
This shift in leadership is corroborated by data from a Dune Analytics dashboard maintained by Entropy Advisors, which indicates Unichain currently commands a market share of approximately 75% for Uniswap v4. Conversely, Ethereum’s portion of this activity has diminished to less than 20%.
The acceleration of this trend became particularly evident around the middle of April 2025, driven by Unichain’s organic growth and the implementation of strategic incentive programs.
It is pertinent to distinguish that Ethereum maintains its leading role concerning Uniswap v3’s trading volume, with this earlier iteration of the protocol currently experiencing more widespread usage among the end-user base.
Uniswap v4 Features and Unichain’s Strategic Alignment
Launched in January 2025, Uniswap v4 represents the most recent evolution of the decentralized exchange.
This version introduces novel features such as “hooks” that enable custom code execution, alongside dynamic fee structures, enhanced gas efficiency, and native support for ETH.
Unichain’s strategic focus is primarily directed towards Uniswap v4, and it does not operate Uniswap v3 as a central component of its ecosystem.
Liquidity Incentives and Network Growth Fuel Dominance
A significant contributor to Unichain’s dominance in the v4 space is a $45 million liquidity incentive initiative, which has catalyzed a notable increase in both active user addresses and the total value locked (TVL) within the network.
According to data from DeFiLlama, Unichain presently holds the position of the third-largest Layer 2 rollup solution as measured by TVL, which is valued at $800 million.
Technical Architecture and Future Transaction Speed Enhancements
Architecturally, Unichain is constructed upon the Optimism Superchain framework.
This design allows it to offer transaction costs that are approximately 95% lower compared to Ethereum’s primary Layer 1 network.
Furthermore, Unichain features one-second block finalization times and has outlined plans to introduce 250-millisecond sub-blocks, with the objective of achieving nearly instantaneous transaction processing.
