Uniswap Labs to pay $175K in CFTC settlement

By Matt Brienen

Published: 2024-09-04T17:25:35+00:00

The Commodities Futures Trading Commission announced a settlement with Uniswap Labs on Wednesday. Per a press release, the CFTC found that the firm “illegally offered leveraged or margined retail commodity transactions in digital assets via a decentralized digital asset trading protocol.” Uniswap will pay $175,000 to settle the allegations. Users, according to the CFTC, could use liquidity pools when trading on the protocol. **Read more:** [CFTC’s Behnam warns crypto industry that more enforcement actions are coming](https://blockworks.co/news/cftc-rostin-benham-warns-crypto) “Among the digital assets traded on the protocol and through the interface were a limited number of leveraged tokens, which provided users leveraged exposure to digital assets such as Ether and Bitcoin,” the [CFTC](https://blockworks.co/tag/cftc) said. CFTC officials alleged that the tokens were leveraged or margined commodity transactions “that did not result in actual delivery within 28 days and therefore can be offered to non-Eligible Contract Participants only on a board of trade that has been designated or registered by the CFTC as a contract market,” and [Uniswap Labs](https://blockworks.co/tag/uniswap) is not authorized as a contract market. “Today’s action demonstrates once again the Division of Enforcement will vigorously enforce the CEA as digital asset platforms and DeFi ecosystems evolve” said director of enforcement Ian McGinley. “[DeFi](https://blockworks.co/tag/defi) operators must be vigilant to ensure that transactions comply with the law.” **Read more from our opinion section:** [DeFi needs institutions — and regulation](https://blockworks.co/news/defi-needs-institutions-regulation) Following the announcement, UNI jumped 6% on the news. Uniswap didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. The crypto firm is also facing potential action from the Securities and Exchange Commission, which [served the firm with a Wells notice](https://blockworks.co/news/sec-issues-uniswap-wells-notice) earlier this year.