Uniswap urges SEC to drop potential enforcement action in new filing: CNBC Crypto World

Summary

CNBCの「Crypto World」では、最近の仮想通貨市場の動向が取り上げられました。イーサリアムETFが承認される可能性に投資家が期待し、その影響でイーサリアムは21％急増し、ビットコインも71,000ドルを超えました。また、Uniswap LabsはSECからのウェルズ通知への公式反論を行い、彼らのプロトコルが証券法に違反していないと主張しています。一方で、Pitchbookの最新のクリプトVC報告書では、Q1におけるスタートアップへの資金供給が2.4億ドルに増加したと報告されています。

Takeaways

• 🚀 イーサリアム（Ether）は20％以上急増し、今週スポットイーサリアムETFが承認される見通しが高まっている。
• 📈 ビットコインも大きな上昇幅を示し、1か月以上ぶりに71,000ドルを超えたが、昼過ぎには69,000ドルに戻った。
• 🎯 SEC（アメリカ証券取引委員会）がスポットイーサリアムETFの申請者に対して、提案を微調整するよう求めていると報道されており、承認の可能性がある。
• 📄 Uniswapは先月SECからのウェルズ通知に対処する公式対応を提出し、40ページの提出文書で彼らが証券法に違反していない理由を詳細に説明した。
• 🏛️ UniswapはSECによる訴訟に反対し、彼らのプロトコル上で証券取引が行われないと主張した。
• 🛡️ UniswapはSECによる規制執行によるリスクを示唆し、アメリカ人による外国インターフェースと取引プロトコルの使用を促進する可能性があると警告した。
• 💡 この週、金融革新と21世紀の技術に関する法案が賛成され、米仮想通貨市場のための規制体系が構築されることが期待されている。
• 📊 Pitchbookのデータによると、仮想通貨スタートアップへの資金調達は、2022年3月以降初めて2つの四半期連続で増加し、今年の第1四半期には24億ドルに達した。
• 🌐 インフラストラクチャとDeFiへの資金投入が増大しており、ブロックチェーンや相互運用性プロトコルの開発が注目されている。
• 💸 DeFiプロトコルはトークン販売を通じて資金を調達し、そのためベンチャーキャピタルの必要性は低くなっている。
• 🌱 DeFiはまだ成長しており、実際の金融サービスにおけるユニークなユースケースが今後拡大すると期待されている。

Q & A

イーサリアム（Ether）の価格が急上昇した理由は何ですか？

イーサリアムは約21％急上昇し、SEC（アメリカ証券取引委員会）がスポットイーサリアムETFを承認する可能性があるという期待が高まっているためです。

SECからのウェルズ通知とは何ですか？

ウェルズ通知はSECからの警告であり、懸念される違法行為に関する情報を企業に通知し、法的措置を避けるための説明の機会を与えるものです。

Uniswap LabsはなぜSECに対して異議を唱しましたか？

Uniswap LabsはSECからのウェルズ通知に応じて、彼らの行動が証券法に反していないと主張し、訴訟を避けるために40ページの提訴書を提出しました。

Uniswap LabsがSECに対して主張した主なポイントは何ですか？

Uniswap Labsは、彼らが運営するプロトコル上で証券取引が行われることなく、SECによる彼らの行為が証券法に反するという主張は根拠のないものであると主張しました。

クリプトベンチャーキャピタルの資金調達がQ1に増加した理由は何ですか？

インフラストラクチャとDeFiへの投資が増加し、低い金利率とスポットビットコインETFの登場という期待が高まったことにより、資金調達が増加しました。

DeFiプロトコルがVC資金を必要としない理由は何ですか？

DeFiプロトコルは多様なトークンセールを通じて資金を調達することができるため、ベンチャーキャピタルからの資金調達が必要ない場合があります。

DeFiの現状と課題は何ですか？

DeFiはまだ多くの暗号トレーダーによるものであり、実際のビジネスでの活用例が不足していると指摘されています。

トークン化はどのような役割を果たす予定ですか？

トークン化は、DeFiにおける重要なトレンドであり、伝統的な金融サービスにおける様々なユースケースを開く可能性があります。

最近の暗号市場の動向はどのような影響を与えていますか？

最近の暗号市場の動向は、投資家のセンチメントが改善し、投資が再び暗号空間に流回るようになったと示唆しています。

Crypto Native VCと一般的な投資家の違いは何ですか？

Crypto Native VCは、暗号空間における専門知識を持つ投資家であり、より賢明で効果的な投資を行うことができるとされています。

Outlines

00:00

🚀 Etherと主要暗号資産の急激な上昇

最近のイーサリアム（Ether）の価格急上昇について説明しています。SEC（連邦証券取引委員会）がスポットイーサリアムETFの承認を検討しているというニュースが原因で、投資家の期待感が高まっています。また、ビットコインも価格が上昇し、1か月以上ぶりに71,000ドルを超えましたが、その後は69,000ドルに戻りました。SECは、スポットイーサリアムETFの申請者に対して、提案を調整するよう求めていますが、個別の申請についてはコメントしていません。

05:02

📄 Uniswap LabsのSECへの対応

Uniswap Labsは、先月SECから受けたウェルズ通知書への公式返信を提出しました。SECは、Uniswap Labsが未登録の取引所を運営している可能性があると警告しましたが、Uniswap Labsは、プロトコル上で証券取引が行われていないため、証券法に違反していないと主張しています。また、SECがすべてのトークンを証券と見なしているという誤った前提に基づいており、トークンは単なる価値のファイルフォーマットであると述べています。

10:02

💡 暗号スタートアップへの投資の増加

最近の暗号スタートアップへの投資動向について説明しています。PitchBookのデータによると、2022年3月以降初めて、暗号スタートアップへのベンチャーキャピタル投資が増加し、2024年最初の3ヶ月で2.4億ドルに達しました。資金調達の増加は、インフラストラクチャとDeFi（分散型金融）の分野に集中しており、これらの分野はまだ発展途上の状況にあるとされています。DeFiは、暗号トレーダー同士の取引が多くながっているため、実際のユースケースが期待されていませんが、トークン化などの新しい用途が見込まれています。

15:03

🌐 暗号市場の今後の展望

Crypto native VC（暗号専門のベンチャーキャピタル）の投資が増加し、市場の健全性と専門的な投資家による支援が期待されています。また、一般的な投資家が市場に復帰する可能性があるとされていますが、その際には市場の健全性がさらに向上していることが望まれます。

Keywords

💡イーサリアム

イーサリアムは分散型アプリケーションを構築するためのオープンソースのブロックチェーンプラットフォームです。ビデオでは、イーサリアムETFの承認が期待されており、その承認が暗号通貨市場に影響を与えると述べています。

💡SEC

米国証券取引委員会（SEC）は、米国の証券市場を監督する政府機関です。ビデオでは、SECがスポットイーサリアムETFの申請者に対して提案を微調整するよう求めており、これはSECがこれらの投資商品を検討する意思があると見做される兆候とされています。

💡Uniswap

Uniswapは分散型取引所であり、ブロックチェーン上で直接トークンを交換することができるプラットフォームです。ビデオでは、Uniswap LabsがSECからのウェルズ通知への公式対応を行ったと報告されており、彼らは証券法規に違反していないと主張しています。

💡ウェルズ通知

ウェルズ通知はSECが発行するもので、法執行行動の可能性があると警告する書面です。ビデオでは、Uniswapがこの通知を受け取り、SECに対して訴訟を避ける理由を説明した40ページの提出書類を作成したと語られています。

💡暗号通貨ファンド

暗号通貨ファンドとは、暗号通貨関連のスタートアップ企業への投資を行うファンドのことです。ビデオでは、2024年1四半期に向けてスタートアップへの資金調達が2.4億ドルに増加し、その背景には低い金利率とビットコインのスポットETFの登場が挙げられています。

💡DeFi

分散型金融（DeFi）は、ブロックチェーン技術を利用して中央集権型の金融システムを排除し、金融サービスを提供する運動です。ビデオでは、DeFiへの投資が減少しているが、トークンセールを通じて資金を調達しているプロトコルが増えていると報告されています。

💡トークン

トークンは、ブロックチェーン上でデジタル資産や権利を表す単位です。ビデオでは、Uniswapがトークンを扱う際にSECの証券法規に違反していないと主張しており、トークンは単なる価値のファイルフォーマットであると述べています。

💡暗号通貨ETF

暗号通貨ETFとは、暗号通貨を追跡する投資商品です。ビデオでは、ビットコインのスポットETFの承認が2021年以降の投資動向に影響を与えており、イーサリアムのスポットETFが承認される可能性があると期待されています。

💡リスク

リスクとは、損失を被る可能性や不確実性を指します。ビデオでは、SECによる法執行アプローチに関連するリスクとして、アメリカ人がより規制が困難な外国のインターフェースや取引プロトコルを使用するようになる可能性が上げられています。

💡規制

規制とは、政府が市場やビジネス活動を制御する法律やルールです。ビデオでは、SECによる規制が暗号通貨業界に影響を与えており、特にDeFiプロトコルに対する規制のアプローチが議論されています。

Highlights

Ether prices surge more than 20% due to hopes for spot ether ETFs approval.

Bitcoin also experiences a boost, reaching over $71,000 for the first time in a month.

SEC is reportedly asking applicants to refine their proposals for spot ether ETFs, indicating a possible consideration of these investment products.

Fidelity amends its ether ETF filing to remove staking as a feature.

Uniswap Labs files a response to the SEC's Wells notice, arguing against potential violations of US Securities Law.

The company claims that their conduct does not violate Securities laws and that the SEC's allegations are baseless.

Uniswap Labs' COO discusses the SEC's case, stating it rests on the false assumption that all tokens are securities.

The risks of legal action against Uniswap Labs could encourage the use of harder-to-regulate foreign interfaces.

Clear rules and regulations in the US could foster innovation and competition in financial markets.

The Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act aims to create a regulatory regime for US crypto markets.

Crypto venture capital funding rose to $2.4 billion in Q1, marking the first increase since Q1 2022.

Infrastructure and DeFi are major areas receiving investment, with a focus on improving blockchain technology.

DeFi protocols often raise funds through token sales rather than venture capital, impacting the recorded data.

Tokenization of off-chain assets on-chain is a growing trend in DeFi.

JP Morgan's use of Uniswap for a test trade of tokenized government securities signifies real-world use cases for DeFi.

Crypto native VC funds are making more deliberate investments in the current market.

The approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs and changing sentiment are driving increased investments in the crypto space.

Crypto native VCs are better positioned to invest in the current environment, offering expertise along with capital.

Transcripts

today ether Rockets more than 20% amid

hopes that spot ether ETFs will be

approved this week Unis swap response to

the sec's Wells notice in a new filing

and pitchbooks Robert lay unpacks the

firm's latest Crypt VC report which

revealed funding Rose to $2.4 billion in

q1 welcome to cnbc's crypto world I'm

Talia Kaplan major cryptocurrencies

surging overnight as investors grow more

confident that spot ether ETFs could get

approved this week ether ried a whopping

21% in the past day now just shy of

$3,800 Bitcoin also got a big boost as

high as $71,000 for the first time in

more than a month by noon though it

retreated back to around

$69,000 now as I mentioned a lot of the

gains in the past day came from New

optimism that the SEC will give the

green light to spot ether ETFs experts

were previously more skeptical that

these ETFs would get the go-ahead

considering the sec's uncertain stance

on ether as a security or commodity but

Reuters reports that the agency is

asking applicants to fine-tune their

proposals for spot ether ETFs a sign

that the SEC could be willing to

consider these investment products now

we asked the SEC about that report and a

spokesperson said it doesn't comment on

individual filings and as that story

from Reuters came out another report

this time from coind

pointed out that Fidelity amended its

ether ETF filing to remove staking as a

feature of the

fund okay let's talk about the top

stories Unis swap just filed an official

response to a Wells notice it received

from the SEC last month that letter

warned Unis swap that the agency

identified potential violations of us

Securities Law now a Wells notice gives

a recipient of a letter a chance to

respond and explain why legal action is

unwarranted and in this 40-page filing

Unis swap Labs detail to the SEC all the

reasons why the agency should not pursue

the case against them including that

none of the lab's conduct runs a foul of

the Securities laws the filing says the

SEC alleged uniswap Labs is operating an

unregistered exchange but that the

allegation is quote meritless given no

Securities transactions take place on

the protocol Unis swaps Chief legal

officer said that the sec's entire case

rests on the false assumption that all

tokens are securities and that quote

tokens are in fact simply a file format

for value now I spoke with udas swaps

Chief Operating Officer Mary Katherine

ladder just after the company filed its

response to the Wells notice here's what

she had to say unisoft Labs took a big

step this afternoon filing an official

response to the Wells notice the company

received from the SEC last month now in

the filing Unis swap details all the

reasons why the agency should not pursue

legal action now I read through the

response and in it Unis swap argues that

it's not Opera ating an unregistered

exchange and that none of the lab's

conduct goes against Securities laws

what is the key argument you're making

in this case and what was the main point

you were trying to get across to the

SEC Talia thanks for having me so Unis

swap Labs is a New York City based

startup uh we build software on top of

blockchains that lets users hold their

own assets and interact with each other

directly using tokens and so the core

there's a core assumption in what the

SEC is is asserting which is that

anything that's a digital file format

anything that's represented as a token

on ethereum is a security kind of akin

to saying a PDF is a stock certificate

and so their arguments against us we

think extend their remit to

Communications and internet protocols uh

and well beyond the remit of just

Securities to all forms of digital

assets potentially um so if you read

through the response as you did we go

through just the definition of a

Securities Exchange of a Securities

broker of an investment contract and

simply just compare the legal

definitions to the facts of the Unis

swap protocol of the uh products that we

build that they're asserting our Brokers

and then um and go through it and it it

doesn't match up and so this is a case

of the secc trying to rewrite the rules

and then enforce them as they go well

outside the the boundaries of today's

law now in the filing Unis swap Labs

outlines some of the risks of carrying

out legal action against your company

noting that bringing this case would

quote encourage America Americans to use

harder to regulate foreign interfaces

and trading protocols while also

discouraging future Innovations from

attempting to Foster new ideas that

bring much needed competition and

Innovation to financial and Commercial

markets what are some of the other risks

associated with the sec's approach of

Regulation by enforcement specifically

as it relates to your company well there

are millions of users who use our

products and they the products fill a

need they allow people to uh transact

with stable coins or ether Bitcoin and

other uh other assets that the SEC has

indicated are not Securities and so

those users will then potentially use

other interfaces that could be offered

um by those who are not operating in

broad daylight in New York City and

trying to understand the law and and

comply with it and so that just exposes

in today's instantly digital and and

Global markets the fact that you can

have markets on the internet means that

users in the US can access products from

all over the world

uh and and that has more risks

Associated potentially um so we would

much prefer to have clear rules of the

road in the United States um and be able

to interact with us users uh with

knowing what the expectations are of us

um so that that's what I'm concerned

about is that it encourages companies to

go offshore it enables actors who don't

have names and faces and who aren't um

who aren't Eng engaging with policy

makers and that has all sorts of

potential risks um Unis swap has never

been hacked

uh we take security incredibly seriously

and uh and that's a security track

record that we're extremely proud of if

you're interacting with an anonymous

team you don't know what their security

track record is and that poses a real

risk to a

user expanding on what you just said in

the filing Unis swop argues that policy

questions should primarily be reserved

for congress well this week the

financial Innovation and technology for

the 21st century act which is aimed at

creating a regulatory regime for us

crypto markets is expected to receive a

vote on the house floor how will that

development impact your business and

what are you hoping happens with that

bill what I'm really excited about in

this bill is that this would prevent

something like an FTX um so it basically

addresses centralized exchanges and

those crypto uh intermediaries that do

hold assets on behalf of users Unis Swap

and contrast does not hold assets on

behalf of users if you interact with

uniswap products you hold your asset ass

yourself so the bill itself recognizes

that decentralized uh blockchain

technology is very very different from

centralized blockchain tech technology

that it doesn't actually um have some of

the same risks uh to users you aren't

entrusting uh your digital assets to

someone else and so what I'm excited

about with this bill is two things first

I'm I'm excited that it recognizes that

critical consumer risk in centralized uh

exchanges too that it allows for more

time and examination of decentralized

technology and then a third it's just

encouraging to see bipartisan support

for a dialogue it's encouraging to see

Congress do what they're supposed to do

which is engage with new topics and

shape policy um through debate

discussion and a

vote now we reached out to the SEC and a

spokesperson told us that the agency

does not comment on the existence or

non-existence of a possible

investigation all right turning to Crypt

venture Capital funding for our other

story pitchbook data out yesterday

revealed that startup funding Rose for a

second straight quarter to hit 2.4

billion dollars in the first three

months of the year amid expectations of

lower interest rates and the debut of

spot Bitcoin ETFs here in the US the

rise in funding that began last quarter

marked the first time that VC

investments in crypto startups have

risen since the March quarter of 2022 so

what's behind the shift in funding

crypto world's McKenzie sagalow sat down

with pitchbooks crypto analyst Robert

lay right here in studio yesterday to

find out they discussed the report's

findings and what we can expect in the

months to

come new data out today from pitchbook

looking at crypto VC activity the thing

that stands out to me is that it seems

that so much of the money is going into

the infrastructure space and defi it's

so many uh you know so much less VC

dollars going into that category why is

that yeah so infrastructure has been a

theme you know really over the last year

and a half really through the the bare

market and now this year as well

continuing seeing a lot of you know

blockchains uh layer ones and layer 2os

know interoperability protocols and all

that just because you know the way

investors look at it is that the

infrastructure is still pretty

underdeveloped and they think that in

order for us to get to the scale and the

throughput that we need to support you

know the billions of users that that

they're hoping that's going come into

the crypto EOS system we really need the

infrastructure to become much much

better defi is a little bit different

just because a lot of the um a lot of

users left you know during during the

the bare Market you know we starting to

see users starting to to come back into

DIY you know tvl which is a measure that

we use it's called to total value lock

that you know just you see Traction in

the def5 space that has gone up a lot so

we could see defi Investments come but

another interesting aspect is that a lot

of defi protocols raise money through

token sales so they sell tokens to the

community you know private token sales

public token sales so they don't

necessarily need to raise Venture

Capital so so because they're not

raising Venture Capital you really don't

see that um um recorded in the data out

of BC race for defi you know anecdotally

in the space some people feel as though

defi hasn't lived up to some of the

promises there's this um you know lack

of understanding of actual real world

use cases that make sense is that part

of the narrative here partly too you

know we we've seen look we think defi is

an interesting space because there are

unique use cases for financial services

um that the the challenge is that what

we've seen with defi over the last you

know let's say four to five years is

that it's just a lot of crypto Traders

trading to other crypto users you know

so we we we're looking at what are the

non- crypto use cases for Defi and there

are a lot you know tokenization this is

a trend that we've been talking about

for quite a while you know the

infrastructure I think of defi there

could be a lot of use cases for

traditional Financial Services we just

haven't seen that come to scale yet but

you know um there are a lot of protocols

that are building you know we look at

protocols like maker who are doing um

you know it's a it's a decentralized

borrow and letting protocol but they're

working on um tokenizing offchain assets

onchain so you know they work with a lot

of traditional Banks already that are

tokenizing their their receivables for

instance so you're starting to see some

of that come on you know we know JP

Morgan used Unis swap to to do a test

trade of um tokenized government

securities uh and in 20 late 2022 so

we're starting to see testing and uses

cases coming along but you know

obviously a lot slower than we expect

but you can expect to see more of those

come in the def5 space yeah had Black

Rock recently tokenizing money market

funds and you know that kind of goes to

this larger question so Bitcoin spot

ETFs are here uh we'll get a decision on

The Ether spot ETFs but from a macro

macroeconomic Viewpoint those aren't

moving the needle with respect to VC

Investments coming back to the crypto

space you you know it's showing up

perhaps in the price of Bitcoin being

north of 60k and and touching all-time

highs in March but what needs to happen

uh you know broadly speaking in order to

bring that uh Capital back into the

ecosystem the kind of capital that we

saw during the last uh Bull Run it's

going to be difficult to say that we're

going to get the amount the same amount

of capital invested as we did in 2021

maybe early 22 but it's coming back uh I

mean just in q1 Alone um quarter over

quarter Investments is roughly around 40

% for both deal value and deal count so

that's a huge increase from quarter over

quarter and so obviously a lot of that

momentum was driven by the approval of

the spot Bitcoin ETFs and but you know

also a lot of investors were sitting on

the sidelines over the last year year

and a half or so they've raised if you

look at um crypto native Venture funds

they raised a a large amount of capital

in 2021 and 2022 that has not been

deployed yet and so I think at the this

point now the sentiment has changed and

investors are getting more comfortable

making Investments so you know I think

the $2.4 billion that you saw um

invested in q1 that's probably going to

be the the low water mark for the year

and so I think that's going to continue

to increase and that's interesting you

you kind of draw this um you know

comparison between Crypton native VC

funds versus something like a a16z or

you know endry more broadly even Sequoia

getting into to crypto related Ventures

and I and I bring this up because this

idea of tourist Capital uh you know kind

of I feel as though everyone flooded

from anything related to blockchain into

AI but that's not necessarily a good

thing because at least from what I've

seen if you've got this like tourist

Capital flooding into a space perhaps

it's not being deployed to the best

companies in the best ways you get uh

prices uh you you get companies that are

overvalued um and if you have a a blow

up there It embarrasses the entire

sector uh so so how do you think there's

actually net benefit to seeing um money

leave the space and having focused VCS

that are are crypto native um making

more deliberate Investments even if the

deal values are nowhere near what they

used to be in 2021 yeah I I I think so

and you know crypto native VCS like this

investing in this environment better

because you don't have to compete as

much for to get into a deal and even for

Founders maybe you don't get the

valuations that you would like to have

like these high valuations that we had

two years ago but you do or 3 years ago

but you do get investors who are much

smarter who who can not only give you

Capital but can also help you you know

deploy infrastructure help you with

staking whatever it is so you get more

um um expert investors on your cap table

so even though you don't get those

valuations it's still a pretty decent

time the the thing is if crypto

continues to go up and we're in this

full-blown um bull market the tourist

investors are going to come back right

like we said crypto winter we're

probably in crypto spring now once it's

summertime everyone's coming back

everyone's on vacation all the tourists

are here so you know I I think you know

we've seen that in a couple Cycles now

for crypto right and so you're right a

lot of the money that you see right now

is is the crypto native VCS and it's not

know generalist investors across over

funds or any of that but you know at

some point they will

return okay that's all for crypto world

today but we'll be back again tomorrow

and we'll see you then

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