Paul Atkins, the new SEC Chairman, clearly emphasizes the United States' stance on encouraging innovation and instructs the examination of regulatory amendments suitable for DeFi.

## A Roundtable on Coins Themed Around DeFi

On the 9th, Paul Atkins, chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), emphasized at the fifth cryptocurrency roundtable held in Washington, D.C., that "the core of decentralized finance (DeFi) activities embodies American values such as economic freedom, private property rights, and innovation."

In addition, it was stated that "blockchain is an innovative technology that eliminates the need for intermediaries, and the network supported by that technology is a free market system embedded with economic mechanisms by the participants."

The conference this time was titled "DeFi and the American Spirit," and was attended by Commissioner Hester Peirce, Commissioner Mark Uyeda, Commissioner Caroline Crenshaw, along with participants from the industry related to DeFi. They discussed the technical and economic impacts of DeFi, regulatory challenges, and future prospects.

Atkins criticized the SEC under the previous Biden administration for claiming that DeFi participants and staking service providers may be involved in securities trading, and preventing U.S. citizens from participating in the market through enforcement regulations such as lawsuits. On the other hand, he said he appreciated that the SEC's corporate finance division has made it clear that miners, validators, and staking service providers are outside the scope of federal securities laws.

He expressed satisfaction with this measure, but argued that it is necessary to establish it as formal rules with legal effect without stopping here.

self-custody of coin

Mr. Atkins pointed out that the ability for individuals to self-manage cryptocurrency in their own digital wallets is a core feature of blockchain technology. "The right to self-manage private property is a fundamental value in America, and it must not disappear just because we are connected to the internet," he asserted.

In the previous administration, it was criticized that the SEC claimed that the development of self-custody wallets and smart contracts could fall under intermediary activities through regulatory measures, hindering innovation. It emphasized that engineers who develop software and publish code should not be subject to securities laws.

I believe that we should not allow a regulatory framework from 100 years ago to undermine the current traditional intermediary model and, most importantly, to hinder innovations that have the potential to improve and develop it.

Consideration of regulations suitable for DeFi

Mr. Atkins stated, "The future should not be feared unconditionally," asserting that on-chain self-executing software systems are resilient to crises. He highly praised how, during recent financial crises, centralized platforms failed while DeFi's self-executing software functioned as designed based on open-source code.

It was pointed out that the current securities regulations are based on issuers and intermediaries such as securities firms, and do not take into account the self-executing code of DeFi. It was stated that SEC staff were instructed to consider regulations and guidance that are suitable for DeFi.

Mr. Atkins is hopeful about the resolution of economic friction through the utilization of on-chain software systems. To this end, he revealed that he has requested staff to consider whether amendments to SEC rules and regulations are appropriate to provide the necessary conveniences for issuers and intermediaries aiming to manage on-chain financial systems.

It has been instructed to examine a framework of "innovation exemption" that allows entities under the jurisdiction of the SEC to quickly bring on-chain products and services to market, alongside the formulation of more appropriate rules.

Mr. Atkins believes that this framework will encourage more developers, entrepreneurs, and companies to leverage on-chain technology for innovation, potentially realizing President Trump's vision of making the U.S. the "capital of cryptocurrency in the world."

Eric Böhne, the founder of the decentralized exchange ShapeShift, who participated in the roundtable discussion, expressed his admiration for the change in tone and attitude of the SEC, stating that he never thought he would be invited to speak at the SEC several years after receiving a subpoena from them for the first time 12 years ago. He remarked, "This will be a significant positive for the U.S."