The SEC has sent a Wells notice to Uniswap Labs, threatening enforcement action against the company behind the leading decentralized exchange (DEX). Uniswap’s founder, Hayden Adams, has vowed to fight back, believing that their products are legal and beneficial, and has urged the community to unite in support of DeFi’s future.

In other news, data from Arkham, a crypto intelligence platform, reveals that the United States government is one of the biggest cryptocurrency holders among global states, alongside the United Kingdom and Germany. The U.S. government holds the most Bitcoin (BTC), with a staggering 212,847 BTC worth approximately $15 billion at current prices.

Meanwhile, Sam Bankman-Fried, the disgraced ex-CEO of FTX who was recently sentenced to 25 years in prison, has requested to remain at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York. The request aims to provide him with reasonable access to his appellate counsel as he prepares for his anticipated appeal, with his defense attorney vowing to challenge the conviction.

Today’s Newsletter

• Uniswap vows to contest SEC’s legal threat
• US gov’t among states with largest Bitcoin holdings
• Sam Bankman-Fried requests to stay in Brooklyn jail to access appeal counsel

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Top Stories

REGULATION

Uniswap vows to contest SEC’s legal threat

The SEC has issued a Wells notice to Uniswap Labs, signaling potential enforcement action against the company behind the leading DEX. Uniswap’s founder, Hayden Adam, has responded defiantly, expressing confidence in the legality and benefits of their products and accusing the SEC of targeting good actors while neglecting bad ones. Adam has called on the community to stand together and fight for the future of DeFi, arguing that Uniswap better protects investors and facilitates fair markets than the SEC currently does.

The news of the SEC’s action has had an immediate impact on Uniswap’s UNI token, causing its price to plummet by nearly 11% with no signs of immediate recovery. The SEC’s move follows its request for information from Uniswap’s competitor, SushiSwap, last year and aligns with the agency’s increased focus on regulating the DeFi space, which SEC Chair Gary Gensler has compared to the ‘Wild West.’ [cryptobriefing]

BITCOIN

US gov’t among states with largest Bitcoin holdings

Arkham, a crypto intelligence platform focused on deanonymizing entities on the blockchain, has released data revealing that the United States government is one of the biggest cryptocurrency holders among global states. The U.S. government holds an impressive 212,847 Bitcoin (BTC), worth approximately $15 billion at current prices, making it the largest BTC whale among the countries tracked by Arkham. In addition to BTC, the U.S. government also holds around $200 million in other cryptocurrencies, including Ether (ETH) and major stablecoins like USDC and Tether (USDT).

The United Kingdom and Germany follow the U.S. in terms of BTC holdings, with 61,245 BTC (worth around $4.5 billion) and 49,858 BTC (worth roughly $3.5 billion), respectively. Interestingly, El Salvador, the first country to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender, holds significantly less BTC at 5,717 (worth $405 million). [cointelegraph]

REGULATION

Sam Bankman-Fried requests to stay in Brooklyn jail to access appeal counsel

Sam Bankman-Fried, the former CEO of FTX who was recently sentenced to 25 years in prison, has submitted a formal request to the US District Court to remain at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York. The request, which cites Rule 38(b)(2) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, aims to provide Bankman-Fried with reasonable access to his appellate counsel as he prepares for his anticipated appeal. The rule allows for a defendant to be confined near the trial or appeal location to assist in preparing the appeal if they are not released pending the process.

Bankman-Fried’s defense attorney, Marc Mukasey, has vowed to appeal the conviction, and Bankman-Fried himself has confirmed the possibility of an appeal to ABC News. He claims that trial testimony misrepresented events and that his defense was restricted from presenting crucial evidence. Prior to his trial, Bankman-Fried was transferred to the Brooklyn jail in August 2023, where reports emerged that he spent time promoting Solana. [cryptobriefing]

Other News

Deciphering the significance of Bitcoin’s current price and circulating supply

Crypto crashes result in $783 million in long liquidations in the last 24 hours

Yuga Labs directs royalties to bankrupt FTX US. [protos]

Binance Labs invests in Bitcoin restaking protocol BounceBit

US Senator sees Bitcoin as solution to credit card fee hike

Bitcoin Cash sends Bitcoin traders warning sign about halving. [coindesk]

Bitcoin sentiment shifting from anticipation to optimism: IntoTheBlock

BlackRock’s BUIDL fund now transferable via Circle’s USDC contract

Nirvana hacker sentenced to 3 years after pleading guilty. [blockworks]

Ethereum’s Pectra upgrade slated for Q4 2024

Next Week’s Token Unlocks

• STRK is set to unlock $96.64M, resulting in a 8.79% supply increase, with a market cap of $1.10b.
• ARB will see $102.84M worth of tokens unlocked, increasing the supply by 3.49%, and it has a market cap of $2.95b.
• APE is expecting an unlock of $20.13M, which will increase the supply by 2.48%. APE’s market cap stands at $809.91M.
• AXS will see an unlock of $86.20M, increasing the supply by 7.59%, with a market cap of $1.14b.
• MANTA is expecting $44.85M worth of tokens to be unlocked, which will increase the supply by 8.67%, and its market cap is $517.57M.
• IMX has an upcoming unlock of $74.19M, resulting in a 2.40% supply increase. IMX has a market cap of $3.09b.
• PIXEL’s upcoming unlock of $27.23M will increase the supply by 7.05%, with a market cap of $386.17M.
• CYBER’s upcoming unlock of $9.48M will increase the supply by 5.98%. CYBER has a market cap of $158.59M.
• RNDR’s upcoming unlock of $6.14M will increase the supply by 0.20%, and it has a market cap of $3.08b.

Vince