The decision of Uniswap Labs to launch Unichain, the Layer-2 (L2) network, without extensive consultation with the Uniswap DAO has caused a considerable controversy within the Defi community.
Critics claim that this step calls serious concerns about transparency, centralization and the broader impact on the ENISWAP ecosystem.
Uniswap Labs and Uniswap Foundation under fire
The launch of Unichain has emphasized the concern about the Governance for the Uniswap -Ecosystem. Members and representatives of the Community expressed frustration about the lack of input of Uni -Token holders.
Defi analyst Ignas in particular pointed out that Uniswap Foundation recently approved a financing proposal of $ 165.5 million to support the development of Unichain and to stimulate the migration of liquidity. Many, however, believe that this financing uniswap Labs and the Uniswap Foundation benefit at the expense of Uni holders, who currently receive no income from the platform.
In the past two years, Uniswap Labs has generated an estimated $ 171 million for costs for front-end. In contrast to competitors such as Aave (Aave), who shares the income of the protocol with token holders through a mechanism for the link, Uniswap has centralized all income, so that the dissatisfaction among uni investors is further fueled.
“In a shifting era in which Aave proposes to buy back $ 1 million from Aave per week and maker $ 30/month purchasingbacks, uni-holders are a dairy cow with now value structure to token … Aave and maker have a more coordinated relationship with token holders, and I cannot be shared with uni-holders.
Duo Nine, a crypto analyst, criticized this strategy and suggested that Uniswap should use his funds to buy back uni -tokens instead of investing heavily in Unichain.
“They are better off buying uni with that money. Their flywheel does not work if they do not reward token holders. Creating an L2 now seems unnecessary costs, “the analyst noted.
In response to worries about how the expansion would be financed, Ignas speculated that Uniswap would sell uni tokens to cover the costs. However, such a movement can lead to further dilution and dissatisfaction with holders.
Liquidity fragmentation: a great care
Another important problem about the launch of Unichain is the risk of liquidity fragmentation. Uniswap Dao has assigned $ 21 million to attract the total value (TVL) to Unichain, with the aim of growing it from $ 8.2 million to $ 750 million.
However, many are concerned that these incentives will mainly lure liquidity providers (LPS) away from Ethereum and other Layer -2 (L2) networks instead of putting on new capital.
Ignas warned that shifting from liquidity to Unichain could weaken the market share of Uniswap on Ethereum, which can make competitors ground.
“The stimulation of TVL on Unichain leads to LPS that migrates from Ethereum and L2S, which reduces the market share on ETH/L2S and enables competitors to arise,” Ignas added.
This liquidity migration can lead to higher slips and less favorable trade conditions in the wider Defi Ecosystem.
Despite concerned, the Uniswap Foundation remains dedicated to expanding the adoption of Unichain and stimulating liquidity migration. Beincrypto reported that the foundation is planning to encourage growth for Uniswap V4 and Unichain. However, skepticism remains whether they will deliver long -term value to the protocol ecosystem.
Uniswap (uni) price performance. Source: Beincrypto
However, since Unichain L2 was launched on the Mainstet on 11 February, the Uniswap -Token price has fallen. From this letter, Uni acted for $ 7.52, an increase with a modest 2% since the Thursday session was opened.
