Uniswap Responds to SEC Wells Notice, Tells SEC to Drop "Weak" Charges
Uniswap Labs has responded to the Wells Notice issued by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) earlier this month.
In a blog post, Uniswap said the SEC's legal arguments are "weak" and have been "refuted" by courts.
"The SEC’s aggressive theories are an effort to expand its jurisdiction beyond exchanges to communications technology – and beyond securities to all markets," Uniswap stated.
"Tomorrow, we expect the House to pass a bill that would give the CFTC robust authority to cover digital asset trading."
A Wells Notice, which is usually sent ahead of launching a formal lawsuit. Coinbase and BUSD issuer Paxos are among the increasing list of crypto firms that have received such notices.
At the time of receiving a Wells Notice, Uniswap refuted the SEC's definition of a token as a security.
Marvin Ammori, the Uniswap Labs Chief Legal Officer, is now arguing that the tokens are a digital file format of value, much like a PDF.
"The SEC arguments rest on the false assumption that just about “all” tokens are securities (which the SEC then refuses to register). But a token is merely a file format–like a PDF or JPEG," Ammori said on X.
Today, @Uniswap has submitted our response to the SEC Wells notice we received in April.
— Marvin Ammori (@ammori) May 21, 2024
The Uniswap protocol represents an innovation in commerce that solves long-standing problems– with near-instant, intermediary-free, secure trading of any assets. It is the first widely used…
Ammori also called out the regulator for trying to redefine "exchange," “group," and "broker," stating that "changing what words mean in order to sue us under the new made-up law just isn’t going to work in court."
Highlighting SEC cases such as those against Coinbase, Grayscale, Ripple, Robinhood, and DebtBox, Ammori branded the regulator "a repeat offender against crypto."
Uniswap has now vowed to fight back against the SEC, armed with lawyers including former SEC head of enforcement, Andrew Ceresney, who represented Ripple in their victory over the SEC. Another lawyer representing the firm is Don Verrilli, who served as a US solicitor general and argued over 50 cases before the US Supreme Court and even represented Grayscale in its battle against he SEC.
"We’ll defend the right to use and distribute general purpose code that challenges incumbents to upgrade, adapt, and compete. So, while our legal team takes on this fight for American innovation and financial freedom, we'll continue to do what we do best: build," Uniswap concluded.