Venture Capital Firm Votes Against Uniswap Deploying On BNB Smart Chain

A16z, a venture capital that invests in crypto and web3 startups, has voted against Uniswap v3 being deployed on the BNB Smart Chain (BSC).

A16z Rejects Launching Uniswap V3 On BSC

BNB Smart Chain is a smart contracting platform developed by Binance, a cryptocurrency exchange leading in trading volumes and client count. BSC competes with Ethereum, the first network where Uniswap launched the first automated market maker (AMM) decentralized exchange in late 2018.

A16z is leading the line, rejecting Uniswap v3 from going live on BSC. The venture capital has voted with all their 15 million UNI, the governance token of the exchange. 

Sources indicate that the crypto venture capital which is part of Andreessen Horowitz and has invested in Coinbase, OpenSea, Optimism, and other dApps and projects, couldn’t participate in the temperature check earlier on because of the custodial setup of their tokens.  

Uniswap is the world’s largest DEX by total value locked (TVL). According to DeFiLlama, the DeFi protocol currently manages $3.96 billion and has deployed in several EVM-compatible blockchains, including Polygon. The exchange has also launched on some of Ethereum’s layer-2 platforms, including Optimism and Arbitrum.

Most Uniswap community members want the DEX to launch on the BSC before its Business Source License (BSL) ends in early April 2023.

If Hayden Adam’s protocol is to deploy on BSC, it would have to use the Wormhole Bridge. However, the primary concern is around the security of crypto bridges. 

Wormhole was hacked for $325 million in 2022 and has reduced its maximum bounty program from $10 million to $2.5 million. A16z is concerned about the security and decentralization of the Wormhole Bridge.

The DEX Should Be Proactive

OxPlasma Labs put forward the proposal for the world’s largest DEX to expand to BSC. The temperature check passed with 80% in favor of the deployment, with only 20% against this move.

Users are now voting on this proposal, and with just 3.26% currently participating, most support the idea of Uniswap launching on BSC. 

Noteworthy supporters include Robert Leshner, the founder of Compound, who has voted for the idea with his 5.76 million UNI. 

Others include GFX Labs, who said this deployment would strengthen the DEX, prevent “another vampire attack,” and reduce the chances of forking Uniswap v3 when the business license ends in early April 2023. GFX Labs insists that the DEX should be “proactive.”