SushiSwap Defense Fund Against SEC Subpoena Already in Works

In a governance proposal released Tuesday afternoon, the DEX said it hopes to sell 15% of its treasury to fund its legal defense efforts

article-image

David Sandron/Shutterstock.com modified by Blockworks

share

The SEC on Tuesday served a subpoena on Tuesday to decentralized crypto exchange SushiSwap — presumably regarding concerns over its native token, Sushi. 

In a governance proposal released Tuesday afternoon, the DEX said it hopes to sell 15% of its treasury to fund legal defense efforts. 

“The international regulatory environment for DAOs remains in flux, and the options for contributor insurance policies remain limited,” Jared Grey, Sushi head chef, wrote in the governance forum Tuesday. “Therefore, we propose Sushi DAO make available a legal defense fund of 3M USDT.

Sushi and Grey were both served, the forum noted. 

“We’re cooperating with the SEC,” Grey said in the proposal. “We do not intend to comment publicly on ongoing investigations or other legal matters.”

The proposal received six votes in the first 30 minutes after being published, all of which were in favor of establishing the legal defense fund. 

The subpoena is only the latest in a series of recent SEC actions to look into various crypto tokens and projects over concerns of unregistered securities offerings. Ripple has been fighting its case in court over accusations that its XRP token is an unregistered security for more than two years. 

When a crypto company is served a subpoena, or a Wells notice, or an enforcement action — and there have been no shortage lately — they need to operate under the assumption that the SEC’s case is already decided, Stuart Alderoty, chief legal officer at Ripple, said.

“The fix is in, and do what you what you need to do to cooperate under the law but don’t fool yourself into believing that you’re going to curry favor with [the SEC] or that you’re going to be able to sway them, because you never will and their goal ultimately will be to crush you or destroy your business,” Alderoty said. 

Grey declined Blockworks’ request for comment.


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

Tags

Upcoming Events

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

Industry City | Brooklyn, NY

TUES - THURS, JUNE 24 - 26, 2025

Permissionless IV serves as the definitive gathering for crypto’s technical founders, developers, and builders to come together and create the future.If you’re ready to shape the future of crypto, Permissionless IV is where it happens.

Brooklyn, NY

SUN - MON, JUN. 22 - 23, 2025

Blockworks and Cracked Labs are teaming up for the third installment of the Permissionless Hackathon, happening June 22–23, 2025 in Brooklyn, NY. This is a 36-hour IRL builder sprint where developers, designers, and creatives ship real projects solving real problems across […]

recent research

Research Report Templates (1).jpg

Research

Jupiter has emerged as the undisputed liquidity backbone of Solana, commanding over 90% of spot DEX aggregation and 80% of perp trading volume. But behind the numbers lies a far more ambitious play: a cross-chain, vertically integrated super-app spanning swaps, synthetics, NFTs, memecoins, and launchpads. This report explores Jupiter’s rapid rise, the monetization upgrades reshaping its revenue profile, and the risks that could unwind its dominance, from token dilution to competition. With annualized revenues nearing $300M, the upside is undeniable, if it can navigate the turbulence.

article-image

Curve founder Michael Egorov is working on a new protocol designed to eliminate impermanent loss, rethink token emissions, and capture BTC-native yield

article-image

Mining outfits have gone bust in the wake of prior halvings. Not so this time around.

article-image

Zora’s announcement that its token is for “fun only” sparked a debate about the need for such tokens

article-image

In recent weeks, Helium has hit new all-time highs while passing major protocol milestones

article-image

Financial advisers in a January survey said equity ETFs were their top choice for gaining crypto exposure in 2025

article-image

“Why put a target out there that’s really speculative, not knowing exactly where this environment is going to go?” CarMax CEO Bill Nash said