Uniswap Expands Reach: Integrating with Robinhood for Crypto Purchases

• Uniswap integrates Robinhood Connect to enable users to purchase crypto directly from the Robinhood balance or credit cards. 

• Users would also receive $10 in USDC when they purchase an equivalent amount in crypto, however, the feature is exclusively available to US users. 

Leading Decentralized Exchange (DEX) Uniswap (UNI) has announced a strategic partnership with crypto trading platform Robinhood to streamline its crypto buying process. According to the report published on April 30, Uniswap mobile app users would now be able to purchase crypto with a credit card or directly from their Robinhood balance through Robinhood Connect. However, the feature is currently available exclusively to US customers. 

An excerpt of the announcement reads:

Users of the Uniswap mobile app can now buy crypto with a debit card, via bank transfer, or directly from their Robinhood balance using Robinhood Connect (available only for users in the United States). Robinhood Connect is the latest addition to the Uniswap mobile app’s selection of fiat onramp providers – a list which already includes Coinbase Pay, Moonpay, and others.

To popularize the feature and encourage users to patronize, Uniswap has announced that it would be airdropping $10 in the USD Coin (USDC) stablecoin to customers who purchase an equivalent amount in crypto using the Robinhood Connect in the Uniswap mobile app. This groundbreaking initiative underscores its significant evolution since its inception. 

Uniswap Makes Significant Progress 

Uniswap was launched in April 2023, serving as a self-custody decentralized finance (DeFi) wallet. Over the past 12 months, it has integrated multiple fiat on-ramp providers including Coinbase Pay and Moonpay. However, its growth and popularity failed to exempt it from criticism as its high transaction fees were highlighted as a huge drawback.

Regardless, it has recorded more than 100,000 downloads on the Google Play Store and obtained a whopping 37% of Ethereum layer-2 volume. Uniswap has also made jaw-dropping moves as part of its plans to expand its offerings. On record, it collaborated with the Ethereum layer-2 network Polygon to enable cross-chain swaps on the platform. In addition to that, it listed Shiba Inu (SHIB) for New York users late last month. 

Contrary to public expectations, Robinhood failed to translate this initiative into its stock price as it declined by almost 5% on April 30. This saw the price falling to $16.48, extending its downward trend to 18% from the peak recorded in late March. Uniswap, on the other hand, saw its native token losing 56% of its 2024 high of over $16. In the last 30 days, the asset has declined by 37% and also fallen by 8% in the last seven days to trade at $7. 

With this happening, the exchange has also received a Well Notice from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), hinting at a possible enforcement action against the platform. This legal showdown could have to do with the sales of securities as witnessed in the lawsuit against Coinbase. However, Uniswap has pledged to fight till the end. 

The overwhelming volume of traded tokens are definitively not securities – they are stablecoins, community and utility tokens, and commodities like Ethereum and Bitcoin. And tokens traded on secondary markets like Uniswap are not investment contracts. In the circumstance where a token may represent a security, the SEC has refused to create a path for businesses to register.