Uniswap settles CFTC charges, Polygon’s new ‘hyperproductive’ POL token: Finances redefined
Welcome to Finance Redefined, your weekly volume of decentralized finance (DeFi) insights – a newsletter designed to bring you the most relevant developments from the past week.
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has seen more regulatory action in DeFi this week after it accused Uniswap Labs of illegally offering retail investors leveraged crypto trading. CFTC Director Warns of More Enforcement Actions on DeFi Ecosystem
In the broader DeFi space, Polygon's native cryptocurrency has evolved into the Polygon Ecosystem Token (POL). Polygon says the token will be a “highly productive” token and better serve Polygon's 2.0 vision.
The CFTC charges Uniswap with illegal derivatives trading
According to a September 4 announcement, the CFTC has sued decentralized exchange (DEX) developer Uniswap Labs for illegally offering sponsored cryptocurrency trading to US retail investors.
According to the CFTC, Uniswap Labs agreed to settle the lawsuit by paying a $175,000 civil penalty and agreeing to stop violating the Commodity Markets Act (CEA).
The CFTC's Division of Enforcement will “vigorously enforce CEA as digital asset platforms and DeFi ecosystems emerge,” CFTC Enforcement Director Ian McGinley said in a statement. “DeFi operators must be proactive to ensure that transactions comply with the law.”
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Polygon MATIC has been upgraded to POL, a “high productivity” simulation tool
Polygon has made key technical improvements to improve its native cryptocurrency service and bring Polygon 2.0.
As of September 4th, the Polygon (MATIC) token has been upgraded to the new Pole Token at a 1:1 ratio.
According to Polygon Labs CEO Marc Boyron, the update will make it easier for the community to participate in the development of the network. Boyron told Cointelegraph in an exclusive interview:
“Now that 2% of emissions are coming through this reform, it creates an opportunity for the community to participate. […] Technically, although complete migration does not occur, [season 1 of the community grants program] He created some releases that the community was able to use.
Interview of Polygon Labs CEO Marc Boiron with Zoltan Vardai of Cointelegraph. Source: YouTube
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The “unlucky” MEV bot borrows $12 million to make a $20 profit
An “unlucky” maximum leveraged value (MEV) bot took out $12 million in flash loans, but the exploiter only got $20.
In a September 5 X post, the blockchain analytics platform Arkham Intelligence MEV bot borrows $11.97 million in Wrapped Ether (WETH) and tries to exchange it for $5,000 in Shuffle (SHFL) tokens for the user “Sandwich”.
Source: Arkham Intelligence
According to Arkham's data, the MEV bot made a total of 14 transactions during the sandwich attack – lending, borrowing, and about $700,000 in USD Coin (USDC) and WETH loans via decentralized finance protocols Aave and Uniswap.
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When Pump.fun sold $41 million in SOL tokens, Solana's price dropped 12%
The price of the Solana token has seen a double-digit drop this week as memecoin startup platform Pump.fun continues to sell off its holdings.
Solana (SOL) coin price fell over 12% during the week to 11:06 am UTC on September 4th to trade at $128. According to Cointelegraph data, the token is down 3.8% on the daily chart.
Solana's price drop comes after a payment account linked to memecoin distributor Pump.fun sold another $1.38 million worth of SOL coins on September 3, according to a Lookonchain post:
“Pamp.fun payment account 10,300$SOL ($1.38M) sold for $134.46 40 minutes ago!”
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The PNP protocol was used, resulting in a loss of $27 million.
The PNP protocol — an independent decentralized financial protocol built on top of Pendle — was exploited on September 3 and has lost $27 million in customer funds as of this writing.
Onchain sleuths traced the offending transaction to an address ending in “bb7”, one of several addresses used by the hacker. As a precaution, Penny has suspended all deposits and withdrawals at this time.
A spokesperson for the DeFi protocol also said that all customer funds will remain safe after the hack and have temporarily suspended all transactions until the issue is resolved.
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Overview of the DeFi market
Most of the 100 largest cryptocurrencies by market cap ended the week in the red, according to data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView.
Out of the top 100, the Beam gaming network (BEAM) token was the week's biggest loser, falling 22%, followed by the Immutable (IMX) token, which dropped nearly 20% on the weekly chart.
Total value is locked in DeFi. Source: Defillama
Thanks for reading this week's roundup of the most impactful DeFi developments. Join us next Friday for more stories, insights and lessons about this dynamic and evolving space.
