Uniswap Enables Permissionless Bridging Across Nine Networks with Across Protocol
On October 23, Uniswap announced that its cross-chain bridge is now live, a big step toward its goal of enabling seamless cross-chain swaps. This new feature allows users to perform cross-chain transactions directly from the Uniswap Interface and Wallet.
The introduction of this functionality responds to the growing demand from the platform’s user base, simplifying the previously cumbersome process of transferring assets between different blockchains.
Unlocking Interoperability: How Uniswap’s In-App Bridge Is Changing the Game
According theblog post, the cross-chain bridging feature is highly requested by Uniswap’s rapidly expanding user base, as it simplifies what was previously a complex and time-consuming task.
Withover six million usersalready trading across various chains, Uniswap seeks to make asset transfers faster, more secure, and more user-friendly.
Before this launch, users often had to rely on external services, go through different interfaces, and face long transaction times to bridge assets.
With Uniswap’s new in-app solution, powered by the permissionless Across Protocol, users can now complete cross-chain transactions without these extra steps.
Across Protocol operates through a decentralized network of liquidity pools and relayers, settling transactions in seconds. This provides a more reliable and secure alternative to traditional bridges, which often involve higher risks and longer wait times.
At launch, Uniswap’s in-app bridging will support nine blockchain networks: Ethereum, Base, Arbitrum, Polygon, OP Mainnet, Zora, Blast, World Chain, and ZKsync.
Users can bridge native assets, such as ETH on Ethereum and ARB on Arbitrum, as well as stablecoins like USDC.
Uniswap Labs Launches Unichain Testnet, Igniting Market Activity Amid Scams
On October 10, Uniswap Labs announced the launch of itsapplication-specific layer-2 blockchainnetwork, Unichain, currently in testnet. This new blockchain will provide faster and cheaper transactions while enhancing interoperability among various blockchain networks.
Unichain is part of Optimism’s Superchain, a network of interoperable layer-2 scaling solutions utilizing Optimism’s technology. Initially, Unichain will feature one-second block times, with plans to reduce this to under 250 milliseconds for a near-instant transaction experience.
Unichain Traders will benefit from liquidity access across other layer-2 networks within Optimism’s Superchain.
Following this announcement, Uniswap’s governance token, UNI, saw increased market activity.The UNI price rose 15%on the same day and reached a trading volume of $583.2 million—a 418% increase.
Market data from CryptoQuant indicates a surge in Uniswap’s network activity, withdaily transactions climbing from 40on October 9 to 673 on October 10, marking a 1,582% increase.
Active addresses also rose by 587%, highlighting growing adoption within the Uniswap ecosystem and increased demand for UNI tokens.
However, the excitement around Unichain has also attracted scammers. A fraudulent website, originally at unlchalindefi[.]com, falsely claimed to be the official site for the new network.
This site was designed to steal users’ cryptocurrency, as MetaMask warned, emphasizing the need for caution amidst the buzz surrounding Uniswap’s launch.