Hayden Adams of Uniswap Refutes Claims of Charging Millions for Uniswap Protocol Access, Reaffirms Commitment to Decentralization

Uniswap, a topper in decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol, is currently facing serious allegations. Claims have surfaced suggesting that Uniswap’s CEO, Hayden Adams, demanded substantial fees for deploying the protocol on new chains. Adams has strongly denied these allegations, labeling them as baseless conjectures.

Adams Fires Back

The drama kicked off when an X user, @wagmialexander, threw out some bold claims, accusing Uniswap of asking for $20 million just to deploy their protocol. 

If you, or someone you love, has been asked to pony up $20M for an ineffective Uniswap deployment just know that you are not alone and we’re here to help. 🙏 https://t.co/bee3V2kavj

— alexander (@wagmiAlexander) September 7, 2024

This was further backed up by Kene Ezeji-Okoye, co-founder of Millicent Labs, who alleged that the fees were split into $10 million for the deployment and another $10 million for user incentives tied to trading carbon credits.

Was $10m to uniswap and an extra $10m in user incentives focused on trading carbon credits

— Kene | Millicent (@PronouncedKenny) September 7, 2024

Hayden Adams quickly took to X on September 12 to set the record straight. “Neither Uniswap Labs nor Uniswap Foundation charge for a protocol deployment. These deployments are decided through governance votes,” he tweeted. He further clarified that getting Uniswap on new chains isn’t a simple copy-paste job—it depends on the work and activity required per chain.

I rarely engage with forks trying to bait engagement, but for the record this is completely false

Neither Uniswap Labs nor Uniswap foundation have ever charged for a protocol deployment

😬 https://t.co/t2VABxEnBK

— Hayden Adams 🦄 (@haydenzadams) September 12, 2024

The DeFi Community Has Two Camps

The DeFi community was quick to respond, and the reactions have been mixed. Even though Adams denied the allegations promptly, it’s left some users questioning the integrity of decentralized protocols like Uniswap. In a space built on transparency, rumors like these can do some real damage. Some users have expressed support for Adams, commending Uniswap’s transparency and governance model. Others remain edgy, questioning the protocol’s motives and governance structure. One user commented, “It’s like asking a fox to guard the henhouse. We need more transparency in DeFi.”

This is not the first time Uniswap has come under the microscope. Recently, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) fined Uniswap Labs $175,000 for providing leveraged cryptocurrency trading to retail investors without proper authorization. Equally, in April, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) alleged that Uniswap was operating an unregistered securities exchange. 

Uniswap’s U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Wells Notice Response. Source: Uniswap

CEO Adam responded on his X handle, saying, “Yes, I’m frustrated that the SEC seems to be more concerned with protecting opaque systems than protecting consumers.”

Today @Uniswap Labs received a Wells notice from the SEC.

I’m not surprised. Just annoyed, disappointed, and ready to fight.

I am confident that the products we offer are legal and that our work is on the right side of history. But it’s been clear for a while that rather than…

— Hayden Adams 🦄 (@haydenzadams) April 10, 2024

Despite her troubles, Uniswap continues to be a hitter in the DeFi space, holding close to $4.35 billion in total value locked (TVL) as of September 12, data from DefiLlama. 

Uniswap TVL. Source: DefiLlama
As Adams stated, “We’re here to reimagine market structures, not to be bogged down by baseless allegations.”