Uniswap Labs, the firm behind decentralized exchange Uniswap, has responded to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) Wells Notice, criticizing its legal basis as "weak". The SEC's notice, based on the assumption that all tokens are securities, was challenged by Uniswap's Chief Legal Officer, Marvin Ammori. He argued that tokens are a value file format, not securities, and criticized the SEC's attempt to redefine terms like "exchange", "broker", and "investment contract" to include Uniswap's operations.
Uniswap has expressed readiness to engage in legal action, with its lawyers having successfully represented cases like Grayscale and Ripple. They warned that a case against Uniswap could push American crypto investors towards foreign trading protocols and discourage future innovation in financial and commercial markets.
This response comes as the U.S. House of Representatives prepares to vote on the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act, which could reshape the SEC and Commodity Futures Trading Commission's regulatory roles regarding crypto. Uniswap believes that if enacted, the SEC's case may become irrelevant, with the CFTC gaining enforcement authority in certain areas. Uniswap's native token, UNI, has surged 2.0% over the last 24 hours and 37% over the week.