Bitwise Registers Uniswap ETF Trust in Early Step Toward Potential Filing

In brief

• Bitwise has formed a Delaware statutory trust for a possible Uniswap-linked ETF, in a routine legal step that typically precedes an SEC filing.
• The move follows the SEC’s decision last year to close its investigation into Uniswap Labs, part of a broader pullback in crypto enforcement.
• Analysts say any ETF review would hinge on market structure, liquidity, and custody considerations rather than protocol legality.

Bitwise has registered a Delaware statutory trust for a potential Uniswap-linked exchange-traded fund, according to a state record filed Tuesday.  The filing represents a common preparatory step used by ETF issuers to establish a legal vehicle ahead of any potential federal filing. Instead, the move establishes an entity under the “Bitwise Uniswap ETF” name, positioning the firm to pursue an ETF tied to the decentralized finance protocol should it later decide to advance a federal filing.  

Such state-level registrations are often made months in advance of any SEC submission, and many do not progress beyond that stage. The registration is a “placeholder step that preserves optionality” for Bitwise and suggests it is “positioning ahead” without implying “an active SEC review or a defined launch timeline,” Vincent Liu, chief investment officer at Kronos Research, told Decrypt. The move follows the SEC’s decision in February 2025 to close its investigation into Uniswap Labs, ending a probe that examined whether activity tied to the protocol violated U.S. securities laws.  The case had formed part of the agency’s earlier enforcement push into decentralized finance, which focused on whether projects described as decentralized still relied on identifiable operators subject to federal oversight.

Since President Donald Trump took office for a second term, the SEC has pulled back from at least 17 major enforcement cases brought against crypto firms and projects. Now, analysts say attention has shifted to structure, liquidity, and execution. Bitwise’s registration “strategically bridges the regulatory clarity from the closed SEC investigation with a practical ETF launch,” Ryan Yoon, senior research analyst at Tiger Research, told Decrypt. “While legal uncertainties have subsided, the approval process will now focus on verifying the protocol’s decentralization and actual liquidity,” Yoon said, adding that Bitwise’s latest move “may be limited” in terms of market impact. Such a condition could make “the stable implementation of revenue-sharing policies like the Fee Switch a more urgent priority for value accrual,” he added, referring to a governance mechanism that redirects a portion of trading fees from liquidity providers to the protocol. The mechanism was proposed in November and approved with a majority vote a month later. So far, Uniswap “exhibits strong on-chain liquidity, though fragmented volumes and decentralized governance present challenges for pricing and oversight,” Kronos Research’s Liu said. If Bitwise proceeds with its Uniswap ETF, factors such as custody would be key, he explained.

“Custody relies on smart contracts, heightening operational risk. These factors would be central for SEC evaluation of any ETF exposure,” he said. A review from the SEC would look into Uniswap’s “market integrity, manipulation risk, and the depth of on-protocol liquidity, including reliance on surveilled markets,” he noted. Uniswap’s UNI token has posted $161 million in 24-hour trading volume, according to CoinGecko data. The protocol’s decentralized exchange platform processed roughly $859 million over the same period.