DeFi Education Fund
Educating policymakers about the benefits of DeFi
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Project Overview
The DeFi Education Fund educates policymakers around the world about DeFi and advocates for policies that welcome DeFi and decentralized governance.
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Crypto Groups Jointly Request SEC Rulemaking on DeFi
The DeFi Education Fund, together with the Digital Chamber and several other crypto advocacy organizations, has formally submitted a joint letter to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), requesting that the SEC initiate a formal rulemaking process for DeFi based on its recent statements. Earlier, the SEC’s Division of Trading and Markets explicitly stated that certain software user interfaces used for trading cryptocurrencies do not need to register as broker-dealers—a green light for such activities. The joint letter urges the SEC to codify this principle into an objective, clear regulatory framework—either through an official announcement or notice-and-comment rulemaking—specifying precisely which activities fall within the definition of “broker,” while expressly excluding infrastructure service providers such as validators, API and RPC providers, oracles, and cloud service providers. This would provide developers with long-term legal certainty, eliminating reliance on temporary guidance. Under current Chair Paul Atkins, the SEC has adopted a proactive and open stance toward digital asset innovation—a sharp contrast to the enforcement-heavy approach of its predecessor—and industry stakeholders are playing a key role in the rulemaking process.
U.S. Senate Divided Over DeFi Developer Exemption Clause, Delaying Progress of Crypto Bill
According to Politico, the U.S. Senate Banking Committee’s cryptocurrency bill—led by Chairman Tim Scott—has become mired in controversy over a provision designed to protect DeFi developers, making bipartisan consensus difficult to achieve. The contested provision would exempt non-custodial software developers who do not control users’ funds from registering as money transmitters or complying with anti-money laundering (AML) requirements. Law enforcement organizations—including the National Sheriffs’ Association and the National District Attorneys Association—have separately written to Congress warning that the provision would undermine efforts to combat financial crime; Senator Chuck Grassley, Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, has likewise expressed similar concerns. The crypto industry, however, views the provision as central to the bill: Amanda Tuminelli, Executive Director of the DeFi Education Fund, has explicitly stated that no textual modifications to the provision will be accepted. Democratic Senators Catherine Cortez Masto and Mark Warner are now pushing for revisions to the provision. If bipartisan agreement cannot be reached, the bill may advance without Democratic support—a scenario that could jeopardize its ability to secure the bipartisan majority required for passage on the Senate floor.