Hayden Adams, the founder of leading Ethereum DEX Uniswap, announced on X that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has issued a Wells Notice to Uniswap Labs, indicating potential litigation against the company. Uniswap now must fight against U.S. government institutions to protect the company and the industry, as DeFi is worth fighting for.
A Wells Notice is a formal notification from the SEC informing the defendant of impending charges. Last March, compliant exchange Coinbase also received a Wells Notice, leading to a long-term litigation with the SEC.
Hayden Adams expressed that he is not surprised, but rather angry, disappointed, and ready to fight. He believes that the products Uniswap provides are legitimate. However, the SEC has not been committed to establishing clear, informed regulations. Instead, they have chosen to focus on attacking long-standing participants like Uniswap and Coinbase while letting bad actors like FTX slip away.
While Adams admitted that he did not initially envision rebuilding finance when he founded Uniswap, it has become a thoroughly decentralized, fully automated on-chain market experiment. Today, the Uniswap protocol’s trading volume has exceeded $2 trillion, all accomplished by the Uniswap team based in New York.
In the face of the U.S. replacing regulation with enforcement, why does Uniswap choose to stay in the U.S.? Adams’ answer is:
“I believe blockchain is a very powerful technology. Like the internet, it will always exist. So someone needs to solve this problem, and it might as well be us.”
Therefore, Adams has decided that they must fight against U.S. government institutions to protect the company and the industry.
This battle will last for several years and may even be appealed to the Supreme Court, leaving the future of fintech and the industry uncertain. If we unite, we can achieve victory.
“I believe freedom is worth fighting for. I believe DeFi is worth fighting for.”
SEC
Uniswap
Wells Notice
Further Reading
Coinbase Fights Back Against SEC’s Wells Notice, Coinbase General Counsel Criticizes Enforcement Without Regulatory Clarity
SushiSwap Receives Summons, Proposal to Establish $3 Million USDT Legal Defense Fund.