Uniswap trading dips 10% following SEC Wells notice, UNI token hits multi-week low
Several whale investors dumped the UNI token following the SEC's crackdown on Uniswap.
Trading activity on the Uniswap decentralized exchange dipped by almost 10% the past day after the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a Wells notice to Uniswap Labs, the entity behind it.
Data from DeFillama shows that Uniswap’s facilitated trades worth $2.7 billion across several blockchain networks, including Ethereum, Arbitrum, Coinbase-backed Base, and others.
Notably, most of the decline occurred on Uniswap V3, the most used version of the decentralized trading platform.
Interestingly, the platform recently passed a staggering $2 trillion in total trading volume.
UNI tanks
News of the SEC action also significantly impacted the exchange’s native UNI token, which fell to a multi-week low of $9.09, according to CryptoSlate’s data.
Blockchain sleuth Lookonchain reported that three whales dumped 2.03 million UNI worth $20 million to centralized exchanges following the news.
According to the investigator, 0x2F8b and 0x3555 deposited 1.25 million UNI each on Binance but have yet to sell. If they do, these addresses would make around $3.5M.
Another whale sold 472,691 UNI for $4.59 million USDC, netting a profit of $1.67M.
‘Prepared to fight’
Mavin Ammori, the Chief Legal Officer at Uniswap Labs, asserted the company’s readiness to confront any potential lawsuit initiated by the SEC.
Ammori emphasized the weakness of the financial regulator’s allegations, noting that the SEC’s jurisdiction pertains solely to securities, not assets characterized by specific file formats or technical standards. He highlighted that most tokens, including Bitcoin, ETH, stablecoins, and meme coins, do not fall under the category of securities.
He added:
“The Uniswap Protocol, web app, and wallet don’t meet the legal definitions of securities exchange or broker Just weeks ago, the judge in SEC v. Coinbase dismissed the claim that crypto wallets were brokers – even if the tokens at issue were securities.”
Ammori reiterated Uniswap Labs’ support for sensible regulations within the crypto sphere, advocating for a clear rule of law rather than arbitrary enforcement and misuse of power by regulatory authorities.