Unichain Goes TEE: A Milestone for Rollups

Unichain’s new TEE-based infrastructure brings transparent block ordering, MEV mitigation, and revert-protected transactions.

Unichain has just become the first Layer 2 to build blocks inside a trusted execution environment (TEE), delivering a fairer ordering mechanism, lower MEV risk, and optional revert protection. 

Powered by Rollup-Boost, the TEE-based builder was co-developed by Uniswap Labs (UNI) and Flashbots, marking a leap toward decentralized infrastructure that benefits everyday DeFi users.

Cool fact: if you’re already submitting transactions on Unichain, you’re taking advantage of this upgrade. Blocks are now formed based on purely transparent ordering rules inside the TEE, reducing sequencer control. MEV extraction opportunities drop sharply because each transaction goes into an encrypted mempool. 

Priority fees drive the ordering logic, and a verifiable block-building API (coming soon) will let anyone confirm blocks were built as declared.

On top of that, Unichain introduces revert-protected transactions for apps that enable it. This means if a transaction is doomed to fail, it won’t cost you gas. The system simulates transactions in advance and excludes those expected to revert, saving users from pointless fees.

Most rollups rely on an off-chain sequencer that can’t be fully audited, but TEE-based building changes the game. The TEE enforces fair ordering rules, and Flashbots plans to post block attestations publicly, allowing for third-party verification. 

This upgrade also paves the way for Flashblocks, an upcoming feature on Unichain that reduces block latency to 200 milliseconds. By placing sub-block logic inside a TEE, Unichain aims to preserve transparency, slash latency, and shield liquidity providers from harmful MEV.

Looking ahead, TEE-based infrastructure opens doors for advanced features like encrypted mempools, scheduled transactions, and TEE co-processing. 

For more details, read the Unichain whitepaper or get started deploying an app. This is only the beginning of Unichain’s push to merge better UX with fair block production—so watch closely.