UNI, the native token of decentralized cryptocurrency exchange Uniswap, has officially emerged as the first-ever DeFi Dapp token to make it into the list of top ten cryptocurrencies ranked by market cap. With a total valuation of $17.3 billion at press time, UNI held the spot on CoinMarketCap as the cryptocurrency with the eighth-largest market cap in the world.
CoinTelegraph reports that the token’s ascent to the top-ten list follows a fifty-percent price surge over the course of the last week. Seven days ago, UNI was priced at roughly $24 a pop. As of press time on March 8th, UNI was trading above $33 per token.
UNI is also ranked as the second-largest Ethereum-based asset currently in existence, with Tether Dollars (USDT) holding the place as the largest Ethereum-based asset in the world.
According to CoinTelegraph, UNI originally broke through to the top-ten largest cryptocurrencies in the world on Friday, March 5th. The day before, on March 4th, UNI’s market capitalization was roughly $8.8 billion; however, within 24 hours, its market cap had increased to $14.7 billion. On Sunday, the price of UNI tokens hit an all-time high of roughly $34.55.
What Caused UNI’s Astronomical Rise?
There are several factors that seem to have contributed to UNI’s recent astronomical rise. The month that preceded UNI’s rise to the #8 spot on CoinMarketCap was full of record-breaking figures in terms of UniSwap’s trading volume. Each week in the month of February brought with it a new all-time high for trading volume on the exchange; the month ended with a record-breaking $31.9 billion in trading volume.
However, UniSwap’s record-breaking streak may be coming to a halt. At press time, the exchange’s seven-day volume was 25 percent lower than the week that preceded it. Still, as CoinTelegraph pointed out, Uniswap “still represents half of all trade on Ethereum-powered DEXs [decentralized exchanges].”
UNI’s market cap surge may also have been partially caused by rumours that the platform’s ‘V3’ upgrade may soon be initiated. Andre Cronje, a developer for Yearn Finance, pointed out on Twitter that UniSwap’s Lead Developer, Hayden Adams, had been posting more frequently on Twitter. Cronje said that this kind of behavior is often indicative of an upcoming announcement.
“When founders/core contributors start posting more actively on Twitter, it normally means they finished a milestone and are waiting for the release, this is the ‘limbo time’ where they don’t want to start something new yet. I’ve noticed @haydenzadams post frequency increase,” he wrote.