The Uniswap community is preparing to vote on a proposal to implement a new fee distribution plan. The Uniswap Foundation has disclosed its balance sheet, which includes $41.41 million in fiat and stablecoins, along with 730,000 UNI tokens (see how FATF Updates Guidance on Virtual Crypto Assets – NFT, DeFi & Stablecoin’s Standards).
The upcoming vote, likely to pass based on previous snapshot polls, will transfer control of the mainnet UniswapV3Factory to a new V3FactoryOwner contract.
This step is necessary before a second, yet unscheduled vote can activate the new fee distribution plan.
The proposed fee distribution plan represents a significant development for the Uniswap ecosystem, potentially creating a new revenue stream for the protocol and its stakeholders.
Although the specific details of the plan remain undisclosed, it is anticipated to incentivize liquidity providers and other key participants in the network.
This balance sheet disclosure by the Uniswap Foundation coincides with potential regulatory challenges from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
The SEC recently issued a Wells notice to the Foundation, signaling its intent to recommend enforcement action against the organization.
The SEC’s notice targets Uniswap’s UNI and LP tokens, arguing that they qualify as investment contracts and alleging violations of securities laws. Uniswap Labs, the company behind the protocol, disputes these claims, asserting that the SEC lacks jurisdiction.
Uniswap Labs argues that LP tokens are merely bookkeeping tools and do not meet the criteria for securities.
Uniswap contends that it does not fit the SEC’s definition of an exchange, which might protect the protocol from regulatory action.
The outcome of this dispute will likely have significant implications for the broader decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem, as many other protocols use similar token models and decentralized exchange mechanisms.
by Peter Sonner
