VC Giants a16z, Union Square Ventures Get Subpoenaed by New York About Uniswap: Sources

New York State Attorney General Letitia James has joined a regulatory offensive against cryptocurrency trading platform Uniswap, according to internal communications regarding the NYAG subpoenas seen by CoinDesk and two people who are familiar with the situation.

Over the course of last month, subpoenas from James’ office were sent to some venture capital firms that have invested in decentralized-finance giant Uniswap, including Andreessen Horowitz (widely known as a16z) and Union Square Ventures, the two sources said.

A spokesperson for Uniswap said via email: “Uniswap Labs is a proud ‘Made in New York’ pioneer of DeFi technology, which offers a path for all of us to better, fairer access to financial services. We don’t wish the burden of unnecessary subpoenas on anyone. But we welcome dialogue any time with any government agency or elected official about the future we can build together when we champion responsible DeFi innovation, especially in our home state.”

The NYAG’s office and Union Square Ventures did not respond to a request for comment, while a16z declined to comment.

Separately, on Wednesday, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) ordered Uniswap Labs to pay a $175,000 civil monetary penalty and to cease and desist from violating the Commodity Exchange Act, the agency said in a press release.

U.S. regulators have targeted the cryptocurrency sector, particularly since the collapse of FTX and other crypto firms in 2022. The Securities and Exchange Commission sent Uniswap a so-called Wells notice in April 2024, which claimed the DeFi platform was acting as an unregistered securities broker and unregistered securities exchange.

The SEC also reportedly recently sent letters regarding Uniswap to a16z and Union Square Ventures.

Attorney General James has previously gone after crypto players such as Genesis, Gemini and Digital Currency Group, as well as CoinEx, KuCoin and Celsius founder Alex Mashinsky.

“Letitia James seems to be following in the footsteps of SEC Chairman Gary Gensler, using crypto as a political punching bag,” said one person who had seen the subpoenas, under the condition they would remain anonymous, voicing a widespread concern among crypto players about some politicians’ view of the industry.