A16z Does Not Want Uniswap V3 On BNB

Table of Contents

• A16z Votes Against Proposal
• Proposal Passed Temperature Check 
• A16z Vs. Jump Crypto - Wormhole Vs. LayerZero

The crypto investment firm has recently voted against the proposal to deploy the latest Uniswap iteration on the Binance Chain using the Wormhole bridge. 

A16z Votes Against Proposal

After passing an early temperature check, the proposal to deploy the latest version of the decentralized exchange Uniswap on the BNB Chain was brought forth for a full governance vote on the Uniswap DAO. As proposed by 0xPlasma Labs, the Uniswap V3 would be deployed on the BNB Chain using the Wormhole bridge. However, Andreessen Horowitz’s crypto arm, a16z, has voted vehemently against the proposal by using its considerable UNI holdings. 

The voting period, which is still ongoing, will conclude on February 10. At the time of writing, only 3% of all UNI tokens had cast their vote. 

Proposal Passed Temperature Check 

The proposal had previously passed the temperature check, in which a16z did not participate due to the custodial set-up of its tokens. The temperature check resulted in an overwhelming 80% of the votes (20 million) for yes, with just around 20% of the votes (4.9 million) for no. the second alternative to Wormhole was Layerbridge, which raked in 17 million votes in support. 

However, a16z’s partners had pointed out their intention even back then. The fund rejected the proposal as it backs LayerZero as a bridge instead of Wormhole. Therefore, a16z used all 15 million of their UNI vote against the proposal. 

The Head of Engineering at a16z, Eddie Lazzarin, pointed out, 

"To be totally unambiguous, we at a16z would have voted 15 million tokens toward LayerZero if we were technically able to. And we will be able in future Snapshot votes. So, for the purposes of a “temperature check,” please count us this way."

A16z Vs. Jump Crypto - Wormhole Vs. LayerZero

On the opposite end, another leading crypto VC, Jump Crypto, has been invested in the Wormhole bridge, even though the fund did not vote for or against the current proposal. The two crypto funds are on opposed due to their respective bridge choices. It is interesting, as the recent debate around cross-chain bridges must mention the numerous attacks that have exploited their vulnerabilities. Wormhole itself lost a significant $325 million after an attack in 2022. At the end of the day, these VC firms will vote in favor of their portfolio companies. However, Wormhole supporters were hoping to avoid this situation and are still surprised that a16z chose to go against the community vote. 

Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.