Are Layer2s playing favorites? SushiSwap questions if Optimism favors Uniswap due to VC influence
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Are Layer2s playing favorites? SushiSwap questions if Optimism favors Uniswap due to VC influence
SushiSwap questions whether it has been treated unfairly by Optimism and switches to Arbitrum.
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsContent compiled with reference to: CryptoBriefing
Today, SushiSwap revealed why it chose Arbitrum over Optimism as the Layer 2 scaling solution for its decentralized exchange.
SushiSwap's Chief Technology Officer Joseph Delong claimed that despite Optimism positioning itself as a community-driven project, it granted preferential treatment to Uniswap.
Delong voiced his frustration on Twitter, stating that Optimism obstructed SushiSwap’s launch and pushed for Uniswap to deploy first.
He said that SushiSwap had already deployed its DEX on the Kovan testnet, only to be informed later that Uniswap would take that opportunity instead.
Optimism explicitly told him that Uniswap must deploy first.
SushiSwap then decided to launch on Arbitrum, which they viewed as a more "neutral" platform. The Arbitrum version has since gone live, while Uniswap V3 was deployed on Optimism's mainnet in July.
In an interview with CryptoBriefing, Delong suggested that Optimism favored Uniswap due to influence from investors Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) and Paradigm. These two venture capital firms may have "colluded" to benefit their portfolio projects.
Delong noted that while this is the first time such an incident has occurred involving SushiSwap and projects backed by Paradigm and a16z, similar situations have happened to other projects before.
"This has happened twice before, so this time we’re taking a stand. We disagree with Paradigm and a16z colluding with their portfolio projects to gain preferential treatment. We are calling out 'Optimism' to raise awareness about collusion in the DeFi space."
Previously, a16z was accused of leveraging its influence within the DeFi community, allegedly directing UNI token votes toward a lobbying group called the DeFi Education Fund.
Many prominent figures in the DeFi space voiced support for SushiSwap. Yearn Finance founder AC tweeted, "This happens far more often than people realize. DeFi isn’t very DeFi."
Ethereum educator and investor Anthony Sassano expressed agreement, saying he felt "disappointed" seeing this unfold, adding, "There's no place for walled gardens in this ecosystem."
In response, Optimism denied any allegations of preferential treatment, claiming instead that Uniswap launched first because "they reached out to us 1.5 years ago—long before SushiSwap did." Optimism added that it wasn't showing favoritism but rather following a "first-come, first-served" principle. The team now plans to whitelist projects "as quickly as possible."
Jinglan Wang, co-founder and CEO of Optimism PBC, responded to Anthony's criticism by stating, "This severely underestimates the difficulty of building *secure* production blockchains. We aren't locking anyone out of some magical oasis of cheap transactions. We're cautious about new software and prioritize every user's fund security above all else."
According to TechFlow research, Jinglan Wang previously served as an advisor to Uniswap. Hayden specifically thanked Wang upon launching Uniswap’s V1, and the two first met at the 2018 Ethereum developer conference EDCON in Toronto—Hayden’s first time attending an Ethereum-related event.
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