SEC and CFTC draw the DeFi line: control, not branding, decides regulation
- —Peirce: regulation weakens when no intermediary manages assets or executes trades
- —SEC granted conditional relief only to certain tokenized securities venues using AMM pools
- —CFTC letter 26-25 lets qualifying passive software providers skip introducing-broker registration
- —Key test is who controls pools, rules, fees and the ability to halt trading, not automation
Why it matters: The guidance sets the US regulatory framework for DeFi: the less control an operator retains, the lower the compliance risk.
Source: Digital Today