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  • 2/26/25: Uniswap Breaks Free 🦄🌪️⚙️

2/26/25: Uniswap Breaks Free 🦄🌪️⚙️

Today’s issue is brought to you by Safe — the world’s leading smart account provider on EVM, securing $100B+ in assets (including Vitalik’s).

Top News

  1. SEC drops investigation into Uniswap, will not file enforcement action

  2. Ethereum Foundation donates $1.25M to Tornado Cash developer defense

  3. Ethereum explores Poseidon hash function to improve zero-knowledge proofs

Specs’ Insights

1. SEC drops investigation into Uniswap, will not file enforcement action

⌐◪-◪ → Uniswap Just Dodged a Bullet—And So Did DeFi

The SEC has officially closed its investigation into Uniswap Labs with no enforcement action—a major win for DeFi.

Since 2021, the SEC had been trying to paint Uniswap as an unregistered broker, exchange, and clearing agency while claiming UNI was a security. Now, those charges are gone.

Uniswap’s CEO, Hayden Adams, slammed the case as arbitrary enforcement, saying the SEC tried to force DeFi into a regulatory framework that doesn’t fit. He also called out the toll—both financially and personally—reminding us that in U.S. regulation, “the investigation IS the punishment.”

This isn’t just a victory for Uniswap; it’s a signal that the SEC is backing off its attack on DeFi under new leadership. But the fight isn’t over—Uniswap is pushing for real regulatory clarity to keep innovation in the U.S.

For now, one thing is clear: DeFi just got a green light.

2. Ethereum Foundation donates $1.25M to Tornado Cash developer defense

⌐◪-◪ → Ethereum Foundation backs Tornado Cash dev.

The Ethereum Foundation just put up $1.25M to support the legal defense of Alexey Pertsev, the Tornado Cash developer convicted of money laundering.

This case has been a flashpoint for privacy in crypto. Tornado Cash—a protocol designed to obscure transaction history—was sanctioned by the U.S. in 2022, and Pertsev was sentenced to 64 months in prison for his role in developing it. He’s now appealing while under electronic monitoring.

Ethereum Foundation’s stance is clear, “Privacy is normal, and writing code is not a crime.” They’re not alone—Paradigm also donated $1.25M to support another Tornado Cash dev, Roman Storm, who’s facing charges in the U.S.

If Pertsev’s conviction stands, it could set a dangerous precedent, where building open-source privacy tools makes you criminally liable. If he wins, it could embolden developers to continue innovating in privacy tech.

The fight over financial privacy in crypto isn’t going away anytime soon.

3. Ethereum explores Poseidon hash function to improve zero-knowledge proofs

⌐◪-◪ → Ethereum is getting a serious cryptographic upgrade

Ethereum researchers are pushing to integrate Poseidon, a new cryptographic hash function, to improve zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs) ahead of the Pectra upgrade.

Poseidon is optimized for ZKPs, using 8x fewer constraints per bit than traditional hash functions like SHA-256—meaning faster, cheaper proofs. This could make rollups like zkSync and StarkNet more efficient, cutting costs and boosting Ethereum’s scalability.

Vitalik Buterin is urging deeper cryptographic analysis before moving forward—because while Poseidon looks promising, it hasn’t been as battle-tested as SHA-256. A proposal from 2022 (EIP 5988) already suggests adding Poseidon as an Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) precompile, making it easier to use in smart contracts.

If Poseidon is integrated, Ethereum could see a major leap in privacy, scalability, and efficiency—but only if the cryptographers give it the green light. Of course, there are many ways it could go wrong executionally and with marketing/narratives.

Everything Else

⛓️ Crypto & DeFi

  • Bitcoin could drop toward $80K—or much lower—says experts

  • Prediction markets no longer see $150k BTC in 2025, $124k new target

  • Solana hits lowest price in 2025, down over 50% since January peak

  • Dogecoin dives as Solana and Ethereum meme coins crash

  • Crypto market cap falls to November 2021 lows after Bybit hack

  • Uniswap Labs faces “biggest disaster” in DAO governance

  • Polygon could lose over $300M in TVL if Aave votes to halt lending

  • Ethereum Foundation names Aya Miyaguchi as president

  • Top EF researchers discuss Ethereum's 'endgame' in 'ask me anything'

  • Avalanche launches a Visa card for mass crypto adoption

  • Polygon faces a $300M TVL loss as Aave halts PoS chain lending

  • OKX shares approach for handling compliance failures

  • Bio Protocol discusses DeSci and the future of DAOs

  • Voltage aims to bring Bitcoin's Lightning Network to every business

  • DeFi mindshare increases amid market downturn, says KaitoAI

  • Tether CEO says competitors are trying to kill Tether

  • Bybit hackers launder $113M in the last 24 hours

  • SMS scams targeting Binance users are on the rise

  • Solana whale unstakes $198M today and transfers to FalconX

  • Solana SIMD-0228 proposal wants to change SOL emissions schedule

🏦 Wall Street

🚀 Venture Capital

  • Echo crypto fundraising platform surpasses $100M in total funds raised

  • Mavryk Dynamics raises $5.2M for blockchain-based RWA ownership

  • Multicoin leads an $8M investment in GPS alternative Geodnet

🏛️ Legal & Regulatory

🌎 Rest Of The World

  • China accelerates research on legal treatment of crypto despite its ban

  • EU includes crypto exchange Garantex in new Russian sanctions package

  • Waste expert gives UK man a 1 in 902M chance of recovering lost Bitcoin

  • India's CBI raids 60 locations in GainBitcoin scam crackdown

  • Bybit vows to go after North Korean hackers, extends bounty program

🖼️ NFTs & Metaverse

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