A New Era for Uniswap
In a surprising twist worthy of a daytime soap opera, the Uniswap community decided last night to greenlight a whopping $74 million plan to create the Uniswap Foundation (UF). Over 99% of Uniswap (UNI) holders—or maybe just a few big fish—cast their votes in favor of this proposal, signaling a new chapter for the decentralized platform.
Unpacking the Proposal
The foundation’s mission? Streamline the Uniswap Grant Program (UPG) and smooth out the wrinkles in governance. Enthusiastic former Uniswap Lab executive, Devin Walsh, now the UF executive director, couldn’t contain his excitement, tweeting, “Last night our proposal to create the Uniswap Foundation passed its final vote!” Talk about a mic drop.
The Numbers Don’t Lie…or Do They?
According to the official report, a staggering 86 million votes—99% of the total—favored creating the foundation. That’s a lot of enthusiastic supporters, right? But hold your horses before you pull out the party hats. Many community members voiced skepticism about the vote being swayed by what some call “whale voting,” where fewer than 20 addresses wielded nearly 99.7% of the voting power. One skeptical Twitter user even referred to the whole affair as a “whale run.”
- Votes in favor: 86 million
- Votes against: 770
- Total votes needed to pass: 40 million
Community Concerns
Despite the seemingly overwhelming support, the community remains divided. Some voices in the Twitterverse assert that the creation of UF represents a kind of centralization that goes against the very ethos of a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO). After all, shouldn’t it be the DAO deciding how those hefty funds are used rather than a centralized foundation?
“The Uniswap DAO is also a joke in regards to decentralization theater, doesn’t exactly help your argument here…” — ChainLinkGod.eth
What’s Next for Uniswap Foundation?
Walsh and fellow team leader Ken Ng are already on the hiring spree, looking for various roles including community lead and governance lead—seemingly a rush to gather a team of 12 champions for their cause. Out of the sizable $74 million, a cool $60 million is earmarked for the Grant Program, while $14 million is set aside for operational costs. One has to wonder, however, how much of that will go to actual groundwork versus fancy PowerPoint presentations.
Uniswap: The Goliath of DEXs
For context, Uniswap isn’t just a small player on the block; it’s the leading decentralized exchange by trading volume, with a jaw-dropping cumulative volume exceeding $1 trillion since its launch in November 2018. It often rivals the daily trading numbers of centralized giants, like Coinbase. But as they say, with great power comes great responsibility…and perhaps a dash of controversy.
