Uniswap’s (UNI) April turbulence; SEC’s notice, fee hike, & soaring trading volume

The United States Securities & Exchange Commission issued Uniswap (UNI) a Wells notice, suggesting an upcoming legal battle with the decentralized exchange (DEX).

The trading platform revealed that the regulator flagged it for running as an unlicensed exchange. Nonetheless, founder Hayden Adams promised to fight the “disappointing” commission.

Uniswap fee hike

The decentralized exchange raised fees for swaps executed through its wallet interface to $0.25 from $0.15. Also, it increased the volume of fee-qualified trades.

While some market players criticized the absence of decentralization on the fee hike, others supported the move, stating that the increase is crucial in helping the DEX fight the impending SEC battle.

Uniswap’s surging trading volume

The decentralized exchange has seen increased activity lately, with 24-hour trading volume surpassing $3 billion over the weekend. Also, Uniswap hit a new milestone as total volume topped $2 trillion on 5 April.

The soaring trading volume shows investors using Uniswap despite the regulator’s notice and hiked fees.

UNI price outlook

Uniswap’s token has exhibited bearishness since the SEC's notice, down 5.77% over the past day to trade at $6.95.

UNI will likely dip further in the near term, considering the regulatory developments and Tuesday’s 8.33 million tokens unlock.

Nevertheless, reports show exchange Coinbase received a similar SEC notification in March 2023, but there hasn’t been any progress.