The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Crypto Task Force held its final scheduled roundtable on June 9, 2025, focusing on decentralized finance in a session titled “DeFi and the American Spirit.” The event, which featured remarks from SEC Chairman Paul Atkins and all four commissioners, marked a pivotal moment in the agency’s evolving approach to crypto regulation — one that signals a clear departure from the enforcement-heavy strategy of previous administrations.
TL;DR
- The SEC Crypto Task Force held its final roundtable on June 9, focusing on DeFi regulation
- Commissioner Hester Peirce stated the SEC “has no business regulating DeFi” directly
- Chairman Atkins proposed an “innovation exemption” for on-chain products and services
- The SEC clarified that mining and validating activities fall outside federal securities laws
- The GENIUS Act stablecoin bill passed the Senate 68-30 on June 17 and heads to the House
Task Force Signals New Regulatory Philosophy
Commissioner Hester Peirce, who leads the Crypto Task Force, delivered what many in the industry consider her strongest statement yet on DeFi regulation. She argued that the SEC has no authority to demand pre-publication approval of software code that “could be used to exchange securities” and warned against infringing on First Amendment rights by regulating individuals who merely publish code.
“The SEC must not infringe on First Amendment rights by regulating someone who merely publishes code on the basis that others use that code to carry out activity that the SEC has traditionally regulated,” Peirce told attendees. However, she drew a clear distinction: those who operate, administer, or maintain platforms that take custody of client assets or make execution decisions “might be subject to regulation.”
Chairman Atkins reinforced the new direction, commending the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance for clarifying that voluntary participation in proof-of-work or proof-of-stake blockchain networks — including mining and validating — does not fall within the scope of federal securities laws. He noted this position is not yet a “duly promulgated rule” and urged the Commission to formally adopt it as regulation.
Innovation Exemption Proposal
Perhaps the most forward-looking element of the roundtable was Atkins’ announcement that he has asked SEC staff to consider an “innovation exemption” that would allow both registrants and non-registrants to bring on-chain products and services to market expeditiously. The proposal aligns with the Trump administration’s stated goal of making America the “crypto capital of the planet.”
The exemption would create a regulatory sandbox of sorts, giving projects a pathway to launch without navigating the full weight of existing securities registration requirements. Industry leaders have long argued that the current framework forces innovators overseas or into regulatory gray zones.
GENIUS Act Builds Bipartisan Momentum
The roundtable occurred against the backdrop of significant legislative progress on Capitol Hill. The Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act — the GENIUS Act — passed the Senate on June 17 with a bipartisan vote of 68-30. The bill, introduced by Republican Senator Bill Hagerty of Tennessee, establishes the first comprehensive federal regulatory framework for payment stablecoins.
Under the GENIUS Act, only permitted issuers may issue payment stablecoins for use by U.S. persons. Stablecoins must be backed one-to-one by U.S. dollars or other low-risk assets. The bill effectively carves compliant stablecoins out of SEC and CFTC oversight, creating a distinct regulatory category — neither securities nor commodities in the traditional sense.
The House announced on July 3 that it would consider the bill during the week of July 14, setting the stage for what could be the most significant crypto legislation in U.S. history. Bitcoin traded around $107,000 as the regulatory landscape continued to take shape.
SEC Withdraws 14 Proposed Rules from Prior Administration
In a parallel move that underscores the regulatory pivot, the SEC withdrew 14 rules proposed by the prior administration covering crypto exchanges, cybersecurity, and predictive analytics. The withdrawals represent a systematic dismantling of the regulatory infrastructure built under former Chair Gary Gensler, who had pursued an aggressive enforcement-first approach to the crypto industry.
According to a Morgan Lewis analysis, the SEC also dismissed several motions to alter settlements concerning “off-channel” communications, despite more recent and less onerous settlements regarding similar conduct. The pattern suggests a broader institutional shift in how the Commission approaches enforcement.
Industry Reaction and Market Impact
The crypto industry responded positively to the roundtable’s outcomes. DeFi protocols, which had operated under persistent legal uncertainty since the SEC’s actions against Uniswap and other platforms, saw the statements as a potential turning point. The clarification around mining and validating activities provided immediate relief to proof-of-stake networks like Ethereum, where validators had faced ambiguous regulatory status.
Market participants noted that the combination of the SEC’s softened stance and the GENIUS Act’s Senate passage created a tailwind for crypto assets broadly. Bitcoin held steady near $107,000 through late June, with regulatory clarity increasingly priced into forward-looking valuations.
Why This Matters
The convergence of the SEC’s softened stance and Congress’s legislative push creates a fundamentally different operating environment for crypto businesses in the United States. For the first time, there is a clear bipartisan pathway to comprehensive crypto regulation — not through enforcement actions and Wells notices, but through actual legislation and formal rulemaking. The industry has long argued that clarity, not permissiveness, is what it needs. The events of June 2025 suggest that clarity is finally arriving, though the details remain to be worked out in implementation.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial or legal advice. Cryptocurrency investments carry risk, and readers should conduct their own research before making investment decisions.
Peirce saying the SEC has no business regulating DeFi is the most based thing a commissioner has ever said publicly
the innovation exemption for on-chain products is huge. basically a safe harbor for builders to ship without waiting for SEC approval
GENIUS act passing the senate 68-30 is surprisingly bipartisan. did not expect that kind of margin on a stablecoin bill
clarifying that mining and validating are not securities activities. took them long enough to state the obvious