Uniswap sees record monthly volume on L2 as DeFi demand flows back

Uniswap smashed its record for monthly volume across Ethereum layer 2s as decentralized finance (DeFi) buffs flooded back into the ecosystem. 

According to data from Dune Analytics, Uniswap generated a record $38 billion in volume across major Ethereum layer-2 networks, including Base, Arbitrum, Polygon, Optimism and several others.

The November record surpassed its previous highest month, set in March, by $4 billion.

Uniswap saw record monthly volume in November across Ethereum L2s. Source: Dune Analytics

Henrik Andersson, the chief investment officer at Apollo Crypto, told Cointelegraph that volumes for Uniswap on Ethereum layer 2s could be traced back to an increased demand for assets and stablecoins in the broader DeFi ecosystem. 

“[This is] in line with the DeFi renaissance and the recent increase in ETH/BTC. Onchain yields are also rising,” Andersson said. 

Andersson added that this recent uptick could be the start of a period of long-awaited outperformance for the Ethereum ecosystem. 

Every time Bitcoin closes in on 100k, we have seen Ethereum and DeFi coins starting to move.

Uniswap witnessed its largest monthly volume on Arbitrum at $19.5 billion, while Coinbase-incubated network Base followed in a close second at $13 billion. 

As of the time of publication, Uniswap stands as the sixth-largest protocol when ranked by fees, raking in over $90 million in fees in the last month, outpacing other protocols, including the Solana memecoin launchpad Pump.fun and major networks like Tron and Maker.

The price of Uniswap’s native UNI token (UNI $12.67) has reflected the uptick of activity for the protocol, gaining more than 42% in the last week. At the time of publication, UNI is changing hands for $12.58, up 10% in the last 24 hours.

Overall, UNI stands as the outperformer among decentralized exchange tokens, surpassing the growth of Solana-based Raydium (RAY $5.41), which is down 2.2% in the last week, as well as Jupiter (JUP $1.09), which is up 7.7% within the same timeframe.