The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has sent a Wells notice to Uniswap Labs, the company said Wednesday, warning the firm behind the Ethereum decentralized exchange (DEX) that it will face a lawsuit over securities charges.
"I’m not surprised. Just annoyed, disappointed, and ready to fight," tweeted Uniswap founder Hayden Adams. "I am confident that the products we offer are legal and that our work is on the right side of history."
"But it’s been clear for a while that rather than working to create clear, informed rules, the SEC has decided to focus on attacking long-time good actors like Uniswap and Coinbase," he added. "All while letting bad actors like FTX slip by."
Today @Uniswap Labs received a Wells notice from the SEC.
I’m not surprised. Just annoyed, disappointed, and ready to fight.
I am confident that the products we offer are legal and that our work is on the right side of history. But it’s been clear for a while that rather than…
The SEC has been investigating the leading Ethereum DEX for years. Back in September 2021, the Wall Street Journal reported that the regulator was looking into Uniswap Labs, launching a probe into how the exchange—which lets users trade directly with each other in a peer-to-peer fashion without an intermediary—worked and how it had been marketed to users.
Word of impending enforcement action against Uniswap comes amid a growing crypto crackdown by the SEC, which has targeted giants like Coinbase, Ripple, and Binance over the past year.
The Ethereum Foundation, which supports the Ethereum network, recently disclosed that it received a "voluntary enquiry from a state authority," but did not specify the state in question. Fortune reported that several crypto companies had received subpoenas regarding their dealings with the Foundation.
Marvin Ammori, Uniswap Labs' Chief Legal Officer, described the warning of enforcement action as "another abuse of power" from the SEC, and that the Wells notice was "disappointing, but is not unexpected from this SEC."
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2/ In Ripple, a judge ruled didn’t act “out of a faithful allegiance to the law”
In Grayscale, three judges ruled broke the law in denying a bitcoin ETF, having no “reasonable and coherent” explanation
In our case with @Uniswap, the SEC’s arguments are particularly weak
"Uniswap products comply with US law," he tweeted. "We welcome sensible regulations for crypto—and clear rule of law that we expect in the US—not arbitrary enforcement and continued abuse of power. Uniswap Labs is prepared to fight against this abuse. And we’re confident we’ll win."
Editor's note: This story was updated after publication with additional details.
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