Mary-Catherine Lader has stepped down as president and chief operating officer of Uniswap Labs after four transformative years. The former BlackRock executive was one of the early Wall Street figures to pivot into crypto, joining Uniswap in 2021. Her departure marks a major leadership change at one of Ethereum’s most influential decentralized platforms.

Lader will remain with the company in an advisory capacity before pursuing her next venture, according to a Bloomberg report. Uniswap Labs confirmed her exit, saying it will continue building on her legacy but has yet to announce a successor.

During her tenure, Lader was instrumental in scaling Uniswap beyond its developer roots. She led the growth of its internal teams across finance, legal, HR, marketing, policy, and customer support—laying the foundation for a more structured and operationally mature organization.

Uniswap remains a major player in decentralized finance (DeFi). Unlike centralized exchanges like Binance or Coinbase, Uniswap allows users to swap tokens directly with each other on-chain. The platform recorded over $73 billion in trading volume in the past 30 days, according to DefiLlama.

The protocol was founded in 2018 by Hayden Adams and has grown into Ethereum’s largest DEX. In October 2022, Uniswap raised $165 million at a $1.66 billion valuation, cementing its status as a DeFi powerhouse.

Earlier this year, Uniswap scored a legal win when the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission dropped its investigation into the protocol without enforcement action, following a 2024 Wells notice.

Lader’s exit adds to a growing list of top crypto executives stepping away amid industry shifts. Her departure could usher in a new phase for Uniswap as it navigates both regulatory uncertainty and evolving market dynamics.