Uniswap.com once bought by SBF, now in Uniswap's hands for free

Uniswap founder Hayden Adams reveals that Sam Bankman-Fried, better known as SBF, once bought the domain Uniswap.com for a sum in the millions of dollars. He did so after Uniswap itself refused to pay that amount to the original owner. SBF then pointed the domain to a fork of the protocol. That malicious use ultimately gave Uniswap’s legal team sufficient grounds to take over the domain for free.

In brief:

• The original owner of Uniswap.com asked for a sum in the millions, but Uniswap refused to pay.
• SBF bought the domain anyway for that same amount and redirected visitors to a fork of Uniswap.
• Uniswap’s legal team ultimately obtained the domain for free, because of the malicious use.

SBF bought domain after Uniswap refused

Hayden Adams shares the story as an anecdote on X. The original owner of Uniswap.com asked a seven-figure sum for the domain. Uniswap declined.

Then SBF stepped in. He did pay the requested amount and had the domain point to a fork of the Uniswap protocol. Adams suspects this was intended to impress or to obstruct Uniswap.

Legal team ultimately obtains domain

Redirecting a well-known domain to a competing or copied project is generally considered trademark infringement. That proved sufficient for Uniswap’s legal team to claim the domain without payment.

Adams does not provide details about the exact legal procedure, but states that the malicious use of the domain was decisive. Wu Blockchain confirms the story based on Adams’s statements.

SBF was convicted in 2023 of fraud and money laundering in connection with the collapse of crypto exchange FTX. The domain story illustrates how he was also active in the DeFi sector outside FTX, albeit in a way that in hindsight comes across as hardly positive.