Token Description & Project Background

Pickle Finance is a decentralized finance (DeFi) asset management protocol. Within the Pickle community, new strategies are identified and executed using pooled user funds held in smart contracts designed to automate these strategies. Each implemented yield farming strategy is referred to as a “Pickle Jar” that operates across various decentralized applications and over a dozen blockchains. 

PICKLE, the governance token of the protocol, was fairly distributed without involvement from venture capitalists (VCs), pre-mining, or any initial coin offering (ICO). Instead, PICKLE was distributed among users actively participating in the protocol. In addition to its governance role, PICKLE can also be staked to earn rewards. 

The team behind Pickle Finance chooses to remain anonymous, with Larry the Cucumber leading the project primarily. 

Risks of PICKLE

Like an investment in other crypto assets, there are some general risks to investing in PICKLE. These include:  (i) volatility risk and liquidity risk, (ii) short history risk, (iii) demand risk, (iv) forking risk, (v) code defects, (vi) regulatory risk, (vii) electronic trading risk, and (viii) cyber security risk. For additional information of these and other general risks associated with crypto assets and Uphold’s platform, please refer to the Risks Specific to Holding Digital Assets statement.

In addition to these general risks, an investment in PICKLE is subject to the following specific risks:

• PICKLE relies on smart contracts that are historically associated with bugs and hacks. While the network has been audited the risks of open source code must be considered; and PICKLE was victim of a US$19.7 million hack in 2021 that resulted in the project losing almost half its value. Additionally, the original development team remains anonymous which presents challenges in assessing credibility through traditional means. 

We emphasize that this Crypto Asset Statement is not an exhaustive description or summary of all risks associated with PICKLE. Investors should conduct their own research and perform their own assessment before trading any crypto asset to determine the appropriate level of risk for their personal circumstances.

The PICKLE community and the aforementioned founders are not under any legal or regulatory obligation to disclose material information to the public regarding its activities. Holders of PICKLE have no recourse to PICKLE community, or Uphold if PICKLE declines in value for any reason.

Changes to applicable law may adversely affect the use, transfer, exchange, or value of any of your crypto assets, and such changes may be sudden and without notice.

Uphold’s Evaluation Process

Prior to listing PICKLE on the Uphold Platform, Uphold performed due diligence on PICKLE and determined that PICKLE is unlikely to be a security or derivative under relevant securities legislation. Uphold’s analysis including reviewing publicly available information on the following: 

• The creation, governance, usage, and design of PICKLE, including ensuring the source code is open-source, audited and peer reviewed, security, and roadmap for growth in the developer community. 
• The supply, demand, maturity, utility, and liquidity of PICKLE.
• Any marketing materials put forward by the PICKLE social team including on, Twitter, Medium blog, LinkedIn posts, Discord and Telegram channels.
• Material technical risks associated with PICKLE, including any code defects, security breaches and other threats concerning PICKLE and its supporting blockchain (such as the susceptibility to hacking and impact of forking), or the practices and protocols that apply to them.
• Legal and regulatory risks associated with PICKLE, including any pending, potential, or prior civil, regulatory, criminal, or enforcement action relating to the issuance, distribution, or use of PICKLE. 

General

Uphold has prepared this Crypto Asset Statement based on publicly available information. Although Uphold has taken steps to obtain information from apparently reliable sources, information contained in this Crypto Asset Statement may be inaccurate, incomplete or out-of-date. This overview is a starting point for you to perform your own research prior to investing in a crypto asset.

Uphold users should read the Risks Specific To Holding Digital Assets statement for additional discussion of general risks associated with crypto assets made available through the Uphold platform.  

Canadian residents, please note that Uphold has filed an application for registration in certain Canadian jurisdictions but has not yet obtained registration. Until such time as Uphold obtains registration, Uphold has agreed to abide by the terms of an undertaking available at the following link. Please also review the Uphold Canada – Crypto Risk Statement for additional discussion of general risks associated with the crypto assets made available through Uphold Platform. Please be aware that statutory rights of action for damages or rescission in section 130.1 of the Securities Act (Ontario) and, if applicable, similar statutory rights under securities legislation in the other provinces and territories of Canada do not apply in respect of this Crypto Asset Statement or other disclosures on the Uphold website and Risks Specific To Holding Digital Assets statement. 

Last updated on June 21, 2023.