Uniswap CEO Denies Taking Bribes to Allow Deployments on Its Platform

As an open-source protocol, Uniswap provides liquidity and trading for ERC20 tokens on the Ethereum blockchain.

Uniswap Protocol CEO Hayden Adams has refuted allegations that the decentralized cryptocurrency exchange (DEX) accepts bribes to allow protocols to deploy on its platform.

In a statement to BeInCrypto, Adams dismissed the claims, which were made by a user named Alexander on X (formerly Twitter), who accused Uniswap of bribing some protocols with amounts as high as $20 million.

“If you, or someone you love, has been asked to pony up $20 million for an ineffective Uniswap deployment just know that you are not alone and we're here to help,” Alexandar wrote in a post on the social media platform.

Adams clarified that neither Uniswap Labs nor the Uniswap Foundation charges protocols for deploying on its platform. He added that governance votes determine whether a protocol is deployed or not.

“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,” Adams said in a statement.

Uniswap Labs is responsible for developing both the Uniswap protocol and the Uniswap interface. For the interface, the ecosystem focuses on the activity and effort required for chain-specific deployment.

Alexander's remarks followed claims by Millicent Labs cofounder Kene Ezeji-Okoye, who alleged that Uniswap charges $10 million for protocol deployments and an additional $10 million for user incentives aimed at trading carbon credits.

In 2022, the Celo Foundation, which oversees the Celo blockchain — a carbon-negative, mobile-first platform for Web3 and environmental impact — approached Uniswap to promote green use cases. As part of this initiative, the Celo Foundation sought to deploy its treasury in a manner that would support green asset-backed tokens.

A proposal submitted to Uniswap on behalf of the Celo Foundation and other parties outlined that Celo would commit $10 million in CELO tokens for Uniswap-specific user incentives and grants, along with an additional $10 million in financial incentives.

According to a snapshot of the governance proposal vote, users approved it with 12 million ‘ayes’ against only 603 ‘nays’. BeInCrypto reached out for comment, but neither Hayden Adams nor Alexander immediately responded.