Uniswap CEO Denies Bribe Claims: No Pay-to-Play for Protocol Deployment

• Rumors claim that Uniswap charges up to $20 million for protocol deployment.
• The DEX recently settled with the CFTC for $175,000 for allegedly illegally offering leveraged trading to U.S. investors.
• Uniswap identifies itself as a “software company” amid SEC investigations.

Uniswap’s CEO has denied allegations that the decentralized exchange (DEX) had requested money from decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols to deploy on the protocol.

Uniswap Allegations

Rumors that Uniswap had been requesting millions of dollars for DeFi protocols to deploy with Uniswap have been refuted by CEO, Hayden Adams, who claims neither Uniswap Labs nor the foundation “have ever charged for protocol deployment.”

The reaction follows the allegations from X user @wagmiAlexander, who claimed that the firm requested $20 million  “for an ineffective deployment.” This followed another allegation from Millicent Labs co-founder Kene Ezeji-Okoye who claimed the DEX was asking an additional $10 million in “user incentives focused on trading carbon credits”:

According to Adams, deployments occur through governance votes. He explained  that requirements to launch on a new chain are prioritized based on “activity and effort required” for its interface:

“We’re putting in a lot of work to lower the effort require per chain.“

The news comes as the DEX wrestles with U.S. regulators to establish itself as a software company amid ongoing proceedings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Regulation Pressures

It’s been just a week after Uniswap settled with the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) over its alleged illegal securities offerings to U.S. retail investors. Without admission or denial of these allegations, Uniswap agreed to pay $175,000 to bring an end to the investigation.

However, the DEX still has some work to do with the SEC, which has alleged that it was operating as an unregistered crypto exchange. In its defense, Uniswap argues that it’s a software company. CEO Adams has also criticized the SEC for its enforcement actions against “long-term good actors,” such as Coinbase, “all while letting bad actors like FTX slip by.”

About the Author

Eddie Mitchell

Eddie has been writing news and content primarily for crypto news and industry players over the past seven years. With an eye for the bigger picture, Eddie prefers to investigate the broader implications of a story, as well as explore the weird and wonderful world of crypto. He believes blockchain has already changed the world, but observes the space overall with a skeptical and adoring eye.

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