Former SEC staffer Amanda Fischer attacked over Uniswap comments

Prominent members of the crypto community have attacked former Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chief of Staff Amanda Fischer over comments made on X.

In response to Uniswap’s most recent push to activate its “fee-switch,” Fischer compared the resulting organization to a “shareholder” model.

This implies a requirement for Uniswap to register with the SEC, as was previously the commission’s position.

Fischer’s comments then heated up in response to a16z crypto’s Head of Policy Miles Jennings’ defence of Uniswap’s system as “accru[ing] direct value transparently… from automated systems.”

She claimed that the timing of Uniswap’s move shows “this clearly was illegal back before crypto purchased the WH.”

Read more: Uniswap fee-switch: new era for DeFi or ‘a sad day for DAOs’?

Crypto’s counterattack

Multiple voices from the crypto community reacted aggressively to Fischer’s comments. 

First, Uniswap’s recently-emboldened founder Hayden Adams raged about being “restricted” as Fischer and Gensler “weaponized the government against us,” leading to “thousands of wasted hours of [his] life.”

Uniswap teammates backed up Adams’ comments, with former Chief Legal Officer Marvin Ammori highlighting that “a four-year failed investigation… found nothing. No case was ever brought.”

General Counsel Brian Nistler also weighed in, calling Fischer’s analysis of the crypto industry “armchair-expert smugness that defined the failed Gensler SEC.”

Others from across the sector were quick to pile on with their own stories. Uniswap fork Sushi’s former CTO Joseph Delong claims he suffered “legal harassment from the Gensler SEC” before resigning in late 2021.

Sushi core developers were allegedly notified of an SEC subpoena in 2022, as was former “Head Chef” Jared Grey in 2023.

ShapeShift’s Erik Voorhees made reference to the lack of clarity from Fischer’s time, stating that “there has never been a list of which tokens were securities from the SEC.”

Former employees and contributors to Consensys, Zcash and Ethena all had their say, referring to the Gensler-era as “unhinged,” an “abuse of power,” and suggesting that Fischer publicly apologize.

Even Bankless’ Ryan Adams spoke of his troubles with the SEC over a 2019 Cosmos staking service. However, as Fischer points out, this was during the first Trump administration.

Amanda Fischer fights back

Fischer defended her viewpoints, characterizing the crypto industry’s approach as “air traffic controlling from my roof and then yell[ing] at the FAA for weaponizing enforcement against my innovation in air travel.”

Dismissing accusations of “lawfare,” Fischer underlines the number of federal judges who supported the SEC’s enforcement actions.

She also pointed to the recent resignation of Judge Mark Wolf who spoke of the “decline of rule of law from this WH, specifically citing crypto corruption.”

Finally, Fischer took issue with the nature of the criticism. She claims she’s “inundated with messages about my appearance,” asking Jennings “is this a feature of your industry you’re proud of?”

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