The news has just come out – Uniswap has launched its Layer 2 (L2) called Unichain. This is not just a chain based on someone else's technology, but a full-fledged blockchain based on the Optimism Stack.

It would seem that the great news is that the commissions are lower, the speed is higher, everything works faster and more convenient. But let's look deeper: does this pose a threat to Ethereum?

Liquidity is spread across different networks

Each L2 is a separate ecosystem where the liquidity goes. Uniswap already has its own UNI token, and it can easily become a key asset on Unichain. The more users who switch there, the less activity there is on the main ETH network.

Uniswap already generates 50% of commissions on the Ethereum network. If he drains traffic to his L2, the commission in Ethereum will drop. It would seem that this is good, but it leads to the next problem.

Ethereum may lose its Economic Stability

ETH validators earn on commission. If all key players, such as Uniswap, move their activity to L2, then the income of validators will decrease. And this can undermine the security of the network if ETH staking becomes less profitable.

This is already happening. Look at the data: the volume of transactions is stable and even growing, but the network's revenue is falling.

Initially, L2 solutions were created as an extension of Ethereum. But in reality, each network wants to issue its own token, keep the liquidity inside and develop its own economy.

Will Uniswap be able to completely move away from Ethereum?

So far, he is building L2 based on Optimism, but what prevents him from launching a full-fledged L1 in the future and abandoning Ethereum altogether? Technically– nothing.

If they want to make Uniswap Chain an independent blockchain, users will just stay inside it, and Ethereum will turn into a backend that no one thinks about.

Conclusion

Ethereum was conceived as the basis for decentralized finance. But if the largest protocols start moving into their own networks, it could change the entire ecosystem.

Now Uniswap L2 is just a convenient tool. But if it turns into a competitor to Ethereum in a couple of years, will ETH still be a DeFi hub? The question remains open.

It seems that Ether is entering the era of liquidity wars and must be tested to prove its superiority, as BTC did in the war for block size.