Uniswap Founder Hayden Adams Says Citadel’s Ken Griffin Is Pushing SEC to Regulate DeFi as Centralized Intermediaries

COINOTAG News reported on December 4 that Hayden Adams, founder of Uniswap, shared on social media that Citadel Securities CEO Ken Griffin, following his involvement in ConstitutionDAO, is pressing the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to classify DeFi protocol developers as centralized intermediaries. Adams noted that Citadel has long lobbied behind the scenes and argued that its claim that DeFi cannot deliver “fair access” is misaligned with the market’s open liquidity ethos. The post underscores a growing regulatory debate on the boundary between open architectures and centralized oversight.

Industry observers say the episode may intensify the discussion around DeFi regulation and the formal status of developers within ecosystems built on open-source liquidity. Framing builders as centralized intermediaries could raise regulatory risk and influence governance, security, and cross‑chain liquidity dynamics. While policymakers have not issued new rules, the development highlights the need for clear, credible guidance to safeguard market integrity without inhibiting innovation in DeFi networks.