The liquidity aggregator from decentralized exchanges (DEX) 1inch began blocking access for American users based on IP addresses. Public relations director Sergey Maslennikov told The Block that the project is laying the groundwork for launching a new product in the United States.
Participation by United States clients in the platform’s terms of use had been restricted as early as April, but these restrictions have only now been implemented at the technical level.
According to Maslennikov, 1inch added “another pop-up notification and a corresponding technical layer for control”.
“The 1inch Network is in the process of raising funds in a Series B round, which has been expanded to $175 million (previously planned for $70 million). A significant portion of these funds will be directed toward the development and launch of 1inch Pro, built specifically for the U.S. market and global institutional investors in compliance with all regulatory requirements,” — he said.
1inch is the largest liquidity aggregator across DEXs. In September, platform users executed trades with a total volume exceeding $7 billion. At its peak in May 2021, the figure reached $9.8 billion.
Some centralized exchanges, such as Binance, have long blocked access to international platforms for US-based clients and have launched dedicated units for the American market.
Participants in the DeFi space have to adapt to a shifting regulatory landscape. For example, Uniswap Labs ceased trading 129 tokens on its interface.
In August, SEC Chair Gary Gensler warned of tighter DeFi regulation and stressed that the decentralized nature of these projects does not provide immunity from regulatory oversight.
In September he described DeFi platform users as “vulnerable”.
Subsequently, media reports emerged of an SEC investigation into several sector companies, including Uniswap Labs.
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