The Uniswap decentralized alternate introduced on March 23 a deliberate launch of its second main model, Uniswap V2. Among the many main options,
The Uniswap decentralized alternate introduced on March 23 a deliberate launch of its second main model, Uniswap V2. Among the many main options, the brand new platform will characteristic flash swaps — an identical characteristic to the notorious flash loans that some blame for latest decentralized finance (DeFi) hacks.
The replace’s launch is tentatively scheduled for Q2 2020, although Uniswap’s weblog submit stresses that it’s “not an introduced launch date.”
Uniswap is a decentralized cryptocurrency alternate platform that gives comparable performance to ShapeShift or Bancor. Not like conventional decentralized exchanges, there isn’t any order ebook. Trades depend on asset pairs the place Ether (ETH) is at all times the bottom forex.
Uniswap V2 will enable direct token-to-token swaps, which is very helpful for swapping one U.S. greenback stablecoin for an additional. Whereas this may be accomplished proper now by routing by way of ETH, a direct alternate reduces losses from charges and slippage.
Stopping DeFi oracle bugs
Uniswap was on the heart of two back-to-back exploits performed on the bZx platform. One of many explanation why the second hack was doable was bZx counting on Uniswap and Kyber as worth oracles — regardless of their comparatively low liquidity.
Uniswap V2 makes an attempt to partially repair this challenge by making a time-averaged worth feed. With a purpose to affect the worth values relayed by the platform, the attacker would want to have an effect on a minimum of two blocks in direct succession.
This design is alleged to forestall assaults based mostly on flash loans, in keeping with Vitalik Buterin, because the flash-lent funds can solely exist for one block. Taking the time common of the costs additionally makes the protocol extra immune to any sort of manipulation generally.
Including flash funding of its personal
Flash loans had been typically blamed for the hacks, although many commentators pointed to essential vulnerabilities in bZx software program. Regardless of their dangerous popularity, Uniswap V2 will characteristic a funding characteristic dubbed flash swap.
The swap permits customers to withdraw a limiteless quantity of ERC-20 tokens from a liquidity pool, supplied that in the identical block, both the tokens or their ETH equal are returned.
The characteristic would enable capital-less DeFi arbitrage — the place merchants play on the worth distinction of the identical asset between numerous platforms. It might additionally make buying leverage by way of Maker (MKR) extra environment friendly.
The lending platform is at present utilized by some merchants to enter leveraged Ether positions by recursively buying ETH with the Dai (DAI) minted by the system.
With the flash swap, the specified leverage might be reached by merely borrowing ETH from Uniswap and returning it as DAI from Maker. Whereas it simplifies the method, it doesn’t make it risk-free as Maker suffered unfair liquidations just lately.