Uniswap Censors 253 Crypto Addresses Blacklisted for Crime, Sanction Associations

2 years ago
Uniswap Censors 253 Crypto Addresses Blacklisted for Crime, Sanction Associations

According to a precocious published report, the decentralized speech (dex) Uniswap has blocked astir 253 cryptocurrency addresses allegedly tied to crimes oregon authorities sanctions. The accusation was discovered by the bundle developer Banteg who analyzed and saved the shared logs from Uniswap’s server.

30 retired of the 253 Blocked Addresses Are ENS Domain Names, Uniswap Labels 7 Types of Risk Factor Categories

On August 19, the bundle developer and Yearn Finance contributor Banteg published a Twitter thread that claims the dex Uniswap blocks 253 crypto addresses. “Uniswap has provided an antithetic level of transparency,” Banteg said successful respect to “frontend censoring via TRM Labs.” Uniswap partnered with TRM Labs successful mid-April and the steadfast blacklists crypto addresses that whitethorn beryllium associated with sanctions and crypto crimes.

The aforesaid month, reports appeared that indicated a fewer guiltless Uniswap users were affected by the TRM Labs-gated beforehand end. At the time, nary 1 was definite astir precisely however galore crypto addresses were blacklisted by Uniswap’s TRM Labs-gated beforehand end. Banteg says determination are 253 addresses and 30 addresses are ENS domain names. The developer besides noted that determination are 7 antithetic types of hazard origin categories and 2 hazard levels.

“Both ownership and being a counterparty of a ‘bad’ code are checked and tin lend to blocking,” Banteg wrote. According to Banteg, the information “wasn’t meant to beryllium public” but the developer noted that radical could inactive person an “exclusive look astatine the precise archetypal [TRM Labs] leak, courtesy of Uniswap.”

Smart Contracts and Code Are Defi, Not the Web Platforms That Host Them

The quality follows the caller U.S. authorities prohibition of Tornado Cash, the ethereum mixing protocol that leverages Coinjoin and ZKsnark technology. After Tornado Cash was banned an unfastened root developer was arrested, Github codification was erased, Tornado Cash Github codebase contributors were suspended, and the project’s Discord server was deleted.

Uniswap Censors 253 Crypto Addresses Blacklisted for Crime, Sanction Associations

However, the non-profit that focuses connected argumentation issues facing crypto assets, Coin Center, believes the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC) “overstepped its ineligible authority.” Coin Center is researching the legalities of the Tornado Cash prohibition and plans to “engage” with OFAC to sermon the matter.

Uniswap Censors 253 Crypto Addresses Blacklisted for Crime, Sanction Associations

While Uniswap has been updating its TRM Labs-gated beforehand end, there’s apt a full batch much crypto companies and decentralized concern (defi) protocols pursuing the aforesaid measures. For instance, connected August 8, Banteg revealed that the Centre Consortium, the stablecoin issuer operated by Circle Financial and Coinbase Global, blacklisted 75,000 USDC that belonged to Tornado Cash users.

“I deliberation this is the archetypal lawsuit erstwhile a excavation has been frozen and not an idiosyncratic account,” Banteg said astatine the time.

The issues surrounding Tornado Cash and the precautions taken by defi teams similar Uniswap, exposure the underlying weakness successful alleged ‘decentralized finance’ protocols and whether oregon not they genuinely are decentralized.

Uniswap Censors 253 Crypto Addresses Blacklisted for Crime, Sanction Associations

Even earlier Tornado Cash was banned by the U.S. government, Tornado Cash developers blacklisted an OFAC-listed ethereum code utilizing a Chainalysis oracle contract. Moreover, successful July 2021, users criticized Uniswap for blocking implicit 100 tokens from the main interface.

Uniswap Censors 253 Crypto Addresses Blacklisted for Crime, Sanction Associations

During some these instances, crypto users discussed however they could simply leverage Tornado Cash codification oregon Uniswap’s astute contracts and mirror sites to bypass these types of restrictions. The information is that Uniswap is simply a institution registered successful the U.S. and the frontend, oregon website, is owned by the U.S. entity. In time, radical whitethorn privation to clarify that defi web portals are not decentralized, and the lone things that could beryllium classified arsenic specified would beryllium the astute contracts and code.

What bash you deliberation astir the dex Uniswap blocking 253 crypto addresses? Let america cognize what you deliberation astir this taxable successful the comments conception below.

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