Uniswap Wins Dismissal of Four-Year Scam Token Class Action in Manhattan Federal Court

Uniswap Labs and founder Hayden Adams secured dismissal with prejudice of a four-year class action in Manhattan federal court on April 29, 2022, as Judge Katherine Polk Failla ruled the decentralized exchange cannot be held liable for scam cryptocurrencies issued by unknown third-party token creators. The lawsuit, originally filed by lead plaintiff Nessa Risley and refocused on alleged state-level consumer protection breaches after an initial August 2023 dismissal, accused Uniswap of enabling "rug pulls and pump-and-dump schemes." Judge Failla held that merely providing an environment where fraud could occur is not equivalent to affirmatively assisting in fraud, finding plaintiffs had not shown Uniswap knew of or substantially aided the misconduct. Adams welcomed the decision on X as a "good, sensible outcome" affirming open-source smart contract developers are not automatically liable when their general-purpose DeFi code is misused by scammers, while the ruling contrasts DeFi toolmaking with crypto mixers like Tornado Cash and Roman Storm cases, where U.S. Department of Justice emphasizes active service operation and potential money-laundering or sanctions violations.