On Thursday, decentralized exchange (dex) and automated market maker (AMM) Uniswap revealed that transaction volumes on the platform’s second tier (L2) solutions have surpassed the $500 billion threshold.
Half a trillion and counting: Uniswap’s Layer 2 expansion shatters records
Since its debut on the Ethereum mainnet on November 2, 2018, Uniswap has evolved significantly, expanding its reach to include several other networks and Ethereum L2 solutions. It currently ranks as the sixth largest decentralized finance (defi) protocol, with a total value captured (TVL) of $6.241 billion.
On January 16, Uniswap, citing insights from Dune Analytics, highlighted this major achievement in L2 volume activity on X. “New year, new milestone,” Uniswap said. “L2s just surpassed $500 billion in all-time volume on the Uniswap Protocol – next stop is $1T.”
Source: Dune Analytics
Data from Dune shows that a substantial portion of Uniswap’s layer two (L2) transaction volume occurred in 2024. The statistics cover activity on platforms such as Arbitrum, Polygon, Optimism, Base, Blast, World Chain, Zksync and Zora. At the beginning of 2024, Uniswap’s L2 volumes were $196.19 billion. As of today, that figure has risen to $501.66 billion, indicating $305.47 billion in volume has been processed since January 2024.
At the beginning of the year, the gas fees L2s paid for posting transaction data and verifying statuses on Ethereum’s mainnet were high. For example, on March 10, 2023, three L2s collectively paid $1.4 million in gas costs. However, the “rent” paid to Ethereum, or layer one (L1), has plummeted, with daily rates often below $150,000. Uniswap is also connected to 28 different blockchains (including L2s), according to data from defillama.com.
