Uniswap UNI
-17.15%
Labs said today that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission served Wells notice that a potential lawsuit would be filed.
Naturally, the cryptocurrency industry interprets this as a serious attack.
“This is the biggest problem, guys.” Posted Bankless co-founder Ryan Adams said of X: “Massive escalation from the SEC and the White House. Uniswap is a symbol of cryptocurrency decentralization. Instead of celebrating Hayden Adams as a generational entrepreneur, they take him to court. “The war on cryptocurrency is a war on the Internet.”
While many teams building decentralized projects have chosen to avoid the United States, both in terms of location and prohibiting citizens from accessing front-end applications, Uniswap Labs has decided to stick with its country of origin. Its position is that it operates a front-end website that provides access to the Uniswap protocol, a code that runs on Ethereum that it does not operate directly. However, this has always run the risk of making it a prime target for regulators looking to crack down on the decentralized finance industry.
Although the SEC has several cases involving decentralized organizations, this is the first time it has gone after a major protocol.
“The war on DeFi has begun. We must bring privacy on-chain and continue to build censorship-resistant systems.” Posted X is the co-founder of Rollup, named after Andy.
Many in the cryptocurrency industry have expressed support for Uniswap and its founder Hayden Adams. A common theme was the industry’s dislike of SEC Chairman Gary Gensler.
“Today we are all Team Uniswap. DeFi is worth fighting for. Sovereignty is a noble endeavor, and the transparency of blockchain technology and software is unmatched by traditional systems. “It will be a landmark for all of us.” said This is AJ Warner, Chief Strategy Officer at Offchain Labs.
Some have expressed strong support for Uniswap Labs in case of a potential trial. “I regret having to fight this battle on behalf of everyone in DeFi, but I can no longer be confident that you and your team will emerge victorious.,” said Jake Chervinsky, Variant Fund’s chief legal officer, said in Adams’ response to X:
Others have called for clear regulation to allow the cryptocurrency industry to thrive in the U.S. rather than succeed globally.
“Fair and transparent rules that allow technology to advance are all we ask for.” Posted Vishal Gupta, former CEO of Coinbase Exchange.
Disclaimer: The Block is an independent media outlet delivering news, research and data. As of November 2023, Foresight Ventures is a majority investor in The Block. Foresight Ventures invests in other companies in the cryptocurrency space. Cryptocurrency exchange Bitget is an anchor LP of Foresight Ventures. The Block continues to operate independently to provide objective, impactful and timely information about the cryptocurrency industry. Below are our current financial disclosures.
© 2023 The Block. All rights reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not provided or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial or other advice.