Uniswap Labs, the primary developer behind one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, disclosed in a blog post on Wednesday that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has alerted them to potential enforcement action.
The specific grounds for the SEC’s warning against Uniswap were not immediately evident from the blog post. However, it appears to be in line with the regulator’s recent efforts to extend U.S. securities law to companies operating in the digital asset space, similar to its actions against Coinbase.
The SEC refrained from commenting on the blog post.
The SEC’s ongoing dispute with Coinbase, the largest publicly traded cryptocurrency exchange globally, revolves around a fundamental question: whether digital assets should be treated as investment contracts, comparable to stocks or bonds, thereby subjecting them to SEC regulation.
The blog post from Uniswap alludes to the broader context of the SEC’s legal battles with Coinbase and others, coupled with a perceived lack of clarity or guidance for compliant operations within the U.S. It characterizes the SEC’s actions as part of a broader political agenda targeting even reputable actors innovating on blockchain technology.
Uniswap functions as a decentralized finance (DeFi) marketplace catering to developers, traders, and liquidity providers. DeFi operates on a peer-to-peer network, eliminating the need for transactions to pass through centralized entities like banks or brokerages.
