COIN - SEC Targets DeFi Marketplace Uniswap Labs With Enforcement Action

2024-04-12 09:55:19 ET

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has targeted %DecentralizedFinance (DeFi) exchange %Uniswap (CRYPTO: ) in a new enforcement action.

Uniswap Labs is a %Cryptocurrency marketplace for %DeFi developers, traders, and liquidity providers. It is an open network and works on a peer-to-peer system.

Transactions on Uniswap Labs are not routed through an intermediary such as a bank or a brokerage firm.

While lesser known to the public, Uniswap Labs runs one of the world's largest cryptocurrency exchanges.

It is not clear exactly why the SEC is targeting Uniswap Labs or what exactly the enforcement action entails.

Analysts are speculating that the Wall Street regulator is targeting Uniswap Labs as part of its ongoing campaign to apply U.S. securities law to crypto companies and exchanges.

The SEC has previously targeted cryptocurrency exchange %Coinbase (NASDAQ: ) with a lawsuit alleging that it has violated American securities laws. Coinbase is vigorously defending itself.

In court, the SEC, Coinbase, and others are debating whether cryptocurrencies are investment contracts like stocks and bonds and should be regulated under existing securities laws.

In a blog post, Uniswap Labs said: “We can only conclude that this is the latest political effort to target even the best actors building technology on blockchains.”