A federal court in the Southern District of New York dismissed a class action lawsuit against DEX Uniswap and its founder Hayden Adams. The plaintiffs sought compensation for losses incurred from trading fraudulent tokens on the platform.

Judge Katherine Polk Failla closed the case, ruling that the company is not liable for the actions of third-party issuers.

Users lost money on fraudulent projects, including Pump & Dump schemes and exit scams. The plaintiffs argued that Uniswap facilitated criminals by providing them a platform to find buyers.

The court rejected this theory: Failla noted that it is absurd to blame the creators of smart contract code for abuses by third parties. In her view, providing a functioning platform does not make developers accomplices to fraud.

The litigation has been ongoing since 2022. In 2023, the court already dismissed claims against Uniswap for violating federal securities laws. The new ruling fully closes the case. The plaintiffs failed to prove any fraud or illegal enrichment by the protocol's creators.

Uniswap Labs' Chief Counsel Brian Nystler called the decision a precedent for the DeFi sector. He emphasized that the court has again protected open-source authors from liability for others' actions.

Another day, another precedent-setting ruling for DeFi.

Today, Judge Failla dismissed with prejudice the Risley class action against @Uniswap Labs and @haydenzadams. The Federal charges had previously been dismissed, and today the various state claims are dismissed. Again, the…

— Brian (@N0th1n3) March 2, 2026

"If fraudsters use open-source smart contracts, it is the fraudsters who are responsible, not the developers," wrote Adams.

In light of the court victory and the overall rise in the crypto market, the native token of the exchange, UNI, increased by 2.1% to $3.88.

15-minute chart of UNI/USDT on Binance. Source: TradingView.

Recall that in January 2026, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission withdrew its lawsuit against the Bitcoin exchange Gemini.