Uniswap Protocol’s Governance Token, UNI Takes Over The DeFi World

By description, Uniswap is a protocol that is primarily used for trading and automated liquidity facilitation on Ethereum. This platform has now become one of the most popular decentralized finance (DeFi) projects in the crypto sector. Just a month ago, Uniswap Protocol came into the spotlight as a result of the drama that came up revolving its fork, SushiSwap.

But, UniSwap has managed to distance itself from the embattled SUSHI token that saw its value plunge steeply from highs of about $40 to $1.00. DeFi Pulse, for now, indicates that UniSwap is leading amongst all the DeFi projects with $1.39 billion locked funds.

UniSwap Introduces Governance Token UNI

Through an official blog post on September 16, UniSwap confirmed the launch of its governance token UNI. The liquidity platform commented:

“We’re committed to the ideals of permissionless access, security, and immutability, all indispensable components for a future where anyone in the world can access financial services without fear of discrimination or counterparty risk.”

Notably, UniSwap has grown to become the foundation of DeFi. So far, it has been integrated into many interfaces and applications in the sector for the past two years. To guarantee that the platform’s growth is secured, UniSwap launched UNI token. This token prioritizes “shares community ownership” with “a vibrant, diverse, and dedicated governance system.”

Based on an official statement from UniSwap, the token is designed to serve the purpose of a publicly-owned protocol, but simultaneously, protect the inherent autonomous features. According to the announcement, the UniSwap minted 1 billion UNI tokens. These tokens will be distributed in the next four years but the initial allocations are as follows:

“60.00% to Uniswap community members 600,000,000 UNI.

21.51% to team members and future employees with 4-year vesting 215,101,000 UNI.

17.80% to investors with 4-year vesting 178,000,000 UNI.

0.069% to advisors with 4-year vesting 6,899,000 UNI.”

Coinbase Lists UNI

UNI’s launch was met by huge support, including the listing on Coinbase just a few hours after its release. This historic support on Coinbase shocked many in the crypto world since some of the projects wait months, and even years, to get the same listing.

The listing announcement came on September 17with Coinbase promising to begin trading as soon as the UNI token gains adequate liquidity. UNI will be offered for purchase and sale against the US dollar in all Coinbase supported jurisdictions apart from New York.

Other crypto exchanges that have added support for UniSwap’s governance token UNI include OKEx, Binance, FTX, and Huobi. Interestingly, FTX is under the leadership of Sam Bankman-Fried. Sam played an integral role in downplaying the SushiSwap saga which led to the $800 million liquidity transfer of SUSHI from UniSwap.

Ethereum Daily Transactions Explode

Ethereum transactions spiked extensively after the launch of UNI. Additionally, the cumulative number of pending transactions on Ethereum surged to 212,225 based on the data given by Etherscan.

Simultaneously, the daily transactions on the Ethereum blockchain exploded to 1.4 billion which is the highest level since January 2018. It is important to realize that UNI’s liquidity farming is scheduled to start on September 18. Thus, the transactions on Ethereum might continue to grow.

UNI Market Update

This governance token began trading on Binance just under $1.00. Nevertheless, there has been a massive growth in the past 24 hours with the token surging to highs above $5.00. at first, the price narrowed within a symmetrical triangle pattern.

A breakout that followed enabled UNI to go on an upward push, rising above $5.00. the massive volume that the token is attracting supports the bullish momentum. Thus, it is not yet clear how far this token will rise at the moment. But, experts say that cases of retracements are also possible.