Unichain Disables RPC Following Early Developer Access Leak
In early October, Uniswap Labs launched Unichain, featuring 250ms block times, cross-chain connectivity, and a decentralized validator network. Two days post-launch, leaked developer access details led to unauthorized activity on the Layer 2 (L2) network, prompting the team to disable Uniswap Layer 2’s public remote procedure call (RPC).
The breach enabled users to access the L2 network ahead of schedule, resulting in a surge of memecoin trading and creation, raising concerns about platform stability and security.
Unichain RPC Shutdown Leaves Users in Limbo
Unichain announced on X that the leak occurred, but the mainnet remains offline and the canonical bridge is incomplete. Consequently, the RPC was disabled to pause unauthorized activities.
Some details for early developer access to Unichain mainnet have circulated publicly
But Unichain mainnet is not live — and the canonical bridge has not been finalized
Since it is not ready for public use, the RPC for this developer access period has been disabled
Details for…
— Unichain (@unichain) November 12, 2024
Unichain promised updates regarding public RPC access on their X account and unichain.org. However, many users found themselves unable to execute transactions with the RPC offline. While users who bridged funds can withdraw to Ethereum Mainnet, challenges remain due to the shutdown.
User feedback included frustration over withdrawal processes without active RPC. One user questioned how bridging could occur under these conditions, while another commented sarcastically on the lack of foresight in disabling RPC access.
Unichain Faces Criticism After RPC Shutdown
Unichain aimed to compete with Solana in memecoin trading. However, the leak and RPC shutdown raised doubts about the project's preparedness and strategic decisions, with critics labeling the move as poorly planned.
Tom Kyser, founder of Gas.zip, remarked on the situation:
“Literally every chain gets frontrun today, sometimes by weeks [...] Nobody's ever turned the RPC off. Some even embraced it. Most just ignored it. But bridges are super aggressive in searching online for when these RPCs go live, so it's really hard to ‘launch’ a mainnet and not get found today.”
Kyser suggested that Unichain's decision to shut down the RPC is unprecedented and could establish a concerning precedent for future blockchain projects. He noted uncertainty regarding users' ability to successfully bridge funds away from Unichain, and attempts to contact Uniswap Labs for further information have yielded no new insights as of November 12, 2024.