Key Points:
- The SEC has concluded its investigation into Uniswap Labs without taking any enforcement action, a significant victory for the DeFi sector.
- The closure of the investigation aligns with a broader shift in the SEC’s regulatory approach under Chairman Mark Uyeda.
Uniswap Labs, the creator of the largest decentralized trading platform on the Ethereum blockchain, announced that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has concluded its investigation into the company without taking any enforcement action.
The announcement marks a notable victory for Uniswap and the broader crypto industry as the SEC appears to be scaling back its aggressive stance on cryptocurrency regulation.
Victory for DeFi: SEC Ends Uniswap Investigation Without Enforcement Action
The SEC’s investigation, which began over three years ago, focused on allegations that Uniswap Labs operated as an unregistered broker, exchange, and clearing agency, and that its native token, UNI, was issued as an unregistered security.
In April 2024, the SEC issued a Wells Notice to Uniswap Labs, indicating potential legal action based on these claims. However, the investigation has now been closed with no charges or penalties against the company.
Throughout the investigation, Uniswap Labs maintained that it operates in full compliance with applicable laws. The company argued that the Uniswap Protocol does not constitute an exchange or clearing agency under U.S. securities law and that UNI is not a security.
Hayden Adams, the founder of Uniswap, criticized the SEC’s approach, describing it as an attempt to apply a regulatory framework designed for centralized financial institutions to decentralized networks. Adams emphasized the structural differences between the two systems and highlighted the investigation’s conclusion as a victory for the DeFi sector.
The closure of the investigation has had a positive impact on the market, with the price of Uniswap’s UNI token experiencing a slight increase following the news. The token is trading at $8.44 at the time of writing with the increasing of over 4.5% in the last 24 hours.
Shift in SEC’s Crypto Stance Under New Leadership
Uniswap is the fourth crypto entity to emerge unscathed from SEC investigations in recent weeks, joining Coinbase, NFT marketplace OpenSea, and brokerage Robinhood.
The development comes amid a broader shift in the SEC’s regulatory stance under the leadership of Chairman Mark Uyeda. Since taking office, Uyeda has initiated several reforms, including the creation of a crypto task force and a crypto and AI fraud oversight board.
These moves are seen as part of a broader effort to reshape the SEC’s approach to cryptocurrency regulation under the new U.S. administration led by President Donald Trump, who has pledged to end the previous administration’s stringent regulatory measures against the crypto industry.
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