A Look into U.S. SEC “DeFi and the American Spirit” Roundtables

Crypto working group of Securities and Exchange American Commission (SEC) Organize a round table entitled “DEFI and the American spirit” on June 9, 2025, at the SEIA in Washington, DC, from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.. The event, which is part of the “Spring Sprint to Crypto Clarity” series, is open to the public in person (recording required) and will be online on dry.gov without registration. It aims to explore the challenges and regulatory opportunities in decentralized finance (DEFI), focusing on promoting innovation while ensuring the protection of investors.

Commissioner Hester M. PeirceWho directs the working group on the crypto, stressed that DEFI “illustrates the promise of crypto, because it allows people to interact without intermediaries”, and it aims to create a regulatory environment where Defi can prosper. The round table will include the opening remarks, a main discussion on DEFI, a session of questions and answers at the Town Hall and final remarks. The panelists include notable characters such as Rebecca Rettig (Jito Labs), Erik Voorhees (Venice AI), Jill Gunter (Espresso Systems) and Peter Van Valkenburgh (Coin Center), moderate by Troy Paredes of Paredes Strategies.

The event is the final of a series of five round tables launched by the former president of the acting dry Mark T. Uyeda January 21, 2025, to discuss the regulation of cryptographic assets. Previous discussions covered subjects such as the definition of security status, crypto trading, guard and tokenization. The working group aims to establish clear regulatory executives, provide registration routes and develop reasonable disclosure rules while moving away from the heavy approaches to the application.

The SEC “DEFI and the American” Round Table highlights important implications for the future of decentralized finance (DEFI) in the United States, exhibiting a clear fracture between defenders of innovation cryptography and regulatory authorities seeking to balance investor protection with market growth. The round table signals the intention of the dry to go to a clearer regulatory framework for DEFI, potentially reducing dependence on actions to apply the actions of the law as the past cases against the dry against Uniswap or composed. A structured approach could involve adapted recording pathways or disclosure rules, as pointed out by Commissioner Hester Peirce to Defi to prosper without intermediaries.

However, any new regulations could impose burials of compliance, potentially stifling smaller deffi projects that lack resources to navigate in complex legal requirements. The SEC aims to protect investors from risks such as fraud, vulnerabilities of intelligent contract or carpet prints, which caused significant losses to Defi, like the $ 3.7 billion in hacks deffi Chain-analysis. Clear rules could improve traditional confidence and adoption.

Conversely, the risks of heavy regulations growing offshore innovation, as we can see with projects moving to jurisdictions like Singapore or water due to American regulatory uncertainty. The theme of the “American spirit” of the round table underlines the potential of Defim to democratize finance through systems without authorization, aligning on the values ​​of individual freedom and innovation. Panelists love Erik VoorheesA vocal libertarian, can say that DEFI employs users by bypassing traditional guards such as banks.

However, regulators may emphasize that the pseudonym nature of DEFI allows illegal activities (for example, money laundering), the creation of tension with money laundering (AML) and customer knowledge requirements (KYC). Positive regulatory results could stimulate the Defi market, which had a total locked value (TVL) of $ 85 billion at the start of 2025 (by Defillama). Clarity could attract institutional capital, legitimizing more DEFI. Failure steps in over-regulation or application could remove growth, stimulating projects towards decentralized or non-American jurisdictions, fragmenting the global challenge ecosystem.

Figures like Voorhees and Rettig The decentralized philosophy of champion DEFI, arguing that it reduces dependence on centralized institutions, promotes competition and empowers individuals. They consider over-regulation as antithetics to the fundamental principles of Defi. The SEC, led by figures like the former acting president Uyeda, prioritizes investor guarantees and the integrity of the market, often requiring centralized surveillance (for example, recording the protocols DEFI as titles). This comes up against the model without permission and without confidence of Defi.

Defi developers argue that existing securities laws do not correspond to decentralized protocols, where no entity controls operations (for example, DAO). The costs of conformity could exclude small players, consolidating disfu among the well -funded entities. The agency considers many DEFI tokens such as titles not registered as part of the Howey test, creating legal risks for non -compliant platforms. The round table can explore compromise, but the stories of application of the dry (for example, $ 2 million in UNISWAP Labs colonists in 2024) suggest a hard position.

The focus on compliance could position the United States as a safer but less competitive DEFI hub, potentially lagging behind compared to jurisdictions with lighter regulations (for example, Switzerland, Malta). Other countries attract projects to be dismissed with friendly crypto policies, creating a risk that the United States losing market share. For example, binance and other platforms have moved operations to courts with clearer rules. The attraction of DEFI lies in accessibility for retail investors, offering high -efficiency opportunities (for example, staggered, liquidity pools).

However, they face risks of volatility and scams, which regulators aim to approach. Large investors are looking for regulatory clarity to enter safely, but their involvement could move DEFI to centralized models, alienating basic users who appreciate decentralization. The round table represents a critical opportunity to fill these divisions, with panelists like Jill Gunter and Peter Van Valkenburgh Probably perger for balanced policies that preserve Defi’s innovative spirit while responding to regulatory concerns.

Success depends on the question of whether the dry can develop rules that avoid stifling the growth of DEFI or pushing it abroad. Not finding common ground could deepen the fracture, fragment the development of DEFI and limit its potential to reshape funding in the United States