Binance Emerges out as UNISWAP DAO's Second Largest Token Holder

 On October 18, Binance distributed 13.2 million UNI (UNI) tokens from its own books. These tokens account for 5.9% of the exchange's voting power. According to the on-chain list of delegates, cryptocurrency exchange Binance is currently the second-largest entity by voting power in the Uniswap DAO, trailing the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, or a16z. The amount allotted approximately 1.3% of the entire supply of UNI.

The requirement for proposing votes was recently lowered in a governance vote. Although the move exceeds a 0.25% threshold and falls below the 4% quorum needed to pass votes, it will still allow Binance to propose governance votes. The shift is a "very unique situation, as the UNI technically belongs to its users," Uniswap CEO Hayden Adams wrote on Twitter.

Adams asserted that it's unclear how Binance plans to interact with Uniswap judgments, stating that “Binance users would prob prefer to keep these gov rights (similar to what compound has done with cUNI).”

Changpeng "CZ" Zhao, CEO of Binance, was also contacted by Adams to discuss the company's plans "in the spirit of transparency." At the time this article was published, CZ had not responded to any queries from either Adams or other users.

Uniswap revealed a $165 million Series B funding round on October 13 with additional previous investors Andreessen Horowitz, Paradigm, Variant, and SV Angel. Polychain Capital served as the round's lead investor. The cash, according to the business, will be used to develop new online applications, developer tools, and a move toward mobile in order to enhance user experience and broaden its current product offerings. Additionally, the business plans to start nonfungible tokens (NFTs) initiatives in the future.

Adams further stated that the platform's total trading volume has reached $1.2 trillion and that the decentralized exchange rose to prominence in 2020 during the decentralized finance craze. In February 2021, Uniswap's total transaction volume reached $100 billion for the first time.