Why Is Uniswap (UNI) Up 30% Today?

UNI is the best-performing cryptocurrency (from the top 100 list) today (September 18), posting a whopping increase of 30% and reaching a 10-month high of nearly $9.20.

Here’s what fueled the rally and what the next potential targets are.

The Catalysts

Perhaps the main driver of the move is the US Securities and Exchange Commission. The regulator issued its Innovation Exemption, which gives temporary relief for on-chain trading of certain tokenized stocks. Hayden Adams (inventor of the Uniswap Protocol and CEO at Uniswap Labs) said the most bullish news is not the official statement, but the comment letter from SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce, which reads:

“Truly decentralized systems that are driven by autonomous software… do not need an exemption.”

Adams said this sort of immunity applies to permissioned pools on Uniswap v4, creating a pathway for compliant trading in the US for assets and users where that is necessary.

Another catalyst is the broader recovery of the cryptocurrency market, which, despite the CLARITY Act’s failure and the interest rate hike in the United States, is in green territory today. Bitcoin (BTC) surpassed $78,000, Ethereum (ETH) reclaimed $2,500, while popular altcoins like NEAR, WLD, DOT, and HYPE have jumped by double digits over the last 24 hours.

What’s Next?

According to multiple analysts, UNI has much more fuel left to post additional gains. X user Altcoin Sherpa believes the next area is around $11 if BTC remains steady.

CW anticipates the asset’s upward trajectory to proceed “smoothly” up to $12.75, where the long-term trend line and a sell wall exist. “It will encounter strong resistance thereafter,” they added.

For his part, Crypto With Gopal noted that UNI is pushing toward the $10 resistance after a long consolidation inside a rectangle structure. He thinks a clean breakout above this level could signal a major momentum expansion to the $20 target.

Meanwhile, the token’s Relative Strength Index (RSI) suggests a short-term pullback may be coming. The ratio has increased to 88, signaling that UNI has entered an extreme overbought zone and could be due for a correction. Conversely, readings below 30 are typically seen as buying opportunities.