Katherine Minarik, a former Coinbase’s Senior Attorney, has been welcomed as the new CLO by Uniswap, a DeFi exchange platform.
Meanwhile, this move has been made at the back of risks the platform faces from possible enforcement action from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Thank you, @ammori! Yep, I have officially wrapped up nearly four incredible years at Coinbase and today I get to start a new chapter in crypto as the next Chief Legal Officer at Uniswap. 1/x https://t.co/zrEaLVGCHm
— Katherine Minarik (@MinarikLaw) June 10, 2024
Minarik shared that she is joining Uniswap as its new member while revealing her new position on X. She said,
“It is impossible to spend time in crypto and not be inspired by the potential of DeFi to change the world. So I am humbled to be taking on this new role at Uniswap Labs, continuing another part of the fight for economic inclusion and the future of finance for all of us.”
Transition in Leadership
Minarik is replacing Marvin Ammori, who left Uniswap at the end of last year to take a reduced role. She worked at Coinbase for four years, which puts her in a good position to handle the legal issues likely to affect Uniswap.
This change of Ammori to a lesser role at the startup was a major shift in Uniswap’s legal team. Minarik’s appointment comes when Uniswap needs legal muscle to tackle the legal questions it will face from the SEC.
SEC’s Potential Legal Action
The SEC’s focus on Uniswap can be anchored on the claim that the Uniswap Protocol is an unregistered securities exchange. The SEC also posited that the UNI token is an investment contract and that the Uniswap user interface is an unlicensed broker-dealer. The said allegations were communicated to the company through a Wells notice two months ago.
We are confident that the products we offer are not just legal — they are transformativeEmpowering people across the world by enabling transparent, verifiable markets with fewer gatekeepersEnabling cheap, accessible, global economic participation
— Uniswap Labs (@Uniswap) April 10, 2024
Nonetheless, Uniswap has easily refuted these allegations, stating that the SEC has been rather omnivorous in its approach to the securities laws. According to the exchange, the regulator has unnecessarily expanded the meanings of securities, exchanges, and contracts.
Uniswap has criticized the SEC’s allegations as weak and opposed the legal precedents that have been set. The exchange has also expressed concern with the SEC’s position, stating that the body’s position seems to mean that any token is classified as a security.
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