Uniswap Labs restricts access to certain tokens through its interface, citing 'evolving regulatory landscape'

Uniswap Labs, the development firm behind decentralized crypto exchange Uniswap, announced on Friday that it would cut off access to certain tokens on the protocol it supports through its interface. 

Uniswap Labs cited "the evolving regulatory landscape" in its explanation of cuts. Uniswap Labs is the best-known entity that offers access to the protocol, but it is not the only one (other aggregators in the DeFi world support access to the popular protocol). The news comes on the heels of heightened scrutiny on tokens imitating offerings that are typically regulated at an exchange level, particularly by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures Trading Commission. 

The list that Uniswap published included more than 100 tokens, as per The Block's estimates. These range from tokenized stocks, mirror stocks, options and derivatives. Examples include Tether Gold, opyn options on ETH at different strikes and expirations, synthetix products on other coins and stocks, tokenized versions of Zelda and Mini Mario Cash, UMA yield dollars, and stocks like "mirror Amazon" and "mirror Tesla."

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SEC Chair Gary Gensler recently cautioned the crypto industry about securities offerings in tokenized form. Gensler said: "It doesn’t matter whether it’s a stock token, a stable value token backed by securities, or any other virtual product that provides synthetic exposure to underlying securities." 

However, the announcement noted that it is simply the official interface that the protocol itself remains unchanged:

"Importantly, the Uniswap Protocol — unlike the interface — is a set of autonomous, decentralized, and immutable smart contracts. It provides unrestricted access to anyone with an Internet connection. "

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Kollen Post is a senior reporter at The Block, covering all things policy and geopolitics from Washington, DC. That includes legislation and regulation, securities law and money laundering, cyber warfare, corruption, CBDCs, and blockchain’s role in the developing world. He speaks Russian and Arabic. You can send him leads at [email protected].
Frank Chaparro is Host of The Scoop podcast and Director of Special Projects. He also writes a biweekly newsletter. Chaparro started his career at Business Insider, where he specialized in the intersection of digital assets and Wall Street, market structure, and financial technology. Soon after joining Business Insider out of Fordham University, Chaparro was interviewing top finance and tech executives, including billionaire Mark Cuban, “Flash Boys” star Brad Katsuyama, Cboe Global Markets CEO Ed Tilly, and New York Stock Exchange President Tom Farley. In 2018, he become a sought after reporter in the crypto world, interviewing luminaries such as Tyler Winklevoss, the cofounder of Gemini, Jeremy Allaire, the CEO of Circle, and Fundstrat head Tom Lee. For inquiries or tips, email [email protected].