Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) and the DeFi Schooling Fund have urged the US Securities and Trade Fee (SEC) to create a “Secure Harbor” program for decentralized utility (dApp) buying and selling platforms.
In an Aug. 12 letter to SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce, the teams wrote {that a} clear framework would hold builders of non-custodial interfaces from being handled as broker-dealers beneath current securities guidelines.
In accordance with them:
“A protected harbor would offer much-needed regulatory readability to builders of consumer interfaces and be sure that they will construct in the US with out concern of the misapplication of legal guidelines inappropriate for contemporary software program infrastructure.”
DeFi Schooling Fund said that the proposal focuses on apps that operate as technical infrastructure. These apps let individuals provoke their blockchain transactions and work together with sensible contracts.
Below these pointers, the platform would permit customers to execute transactions independently, with out taking custody of belongings, exercising discretion over commerce execution, or soliciting investments.
Whereas dApps might nonetheless make use of instruments like routers or solvers to enhance effectivity, the consumer would retain last approval over each transaction.
Moreover, qualifying dApps should function on blockchain networks or sensible contracts which might be non-custodial, permissionless, and free from control-based belief dependencies.
Each entities argued that these standards would set expectations for builders and scale back unintentional violations. In addition they confused that decentralization unfolds in phases, as tasks usually begin with tighter security controls after which hand off authority as they mature.
If the regulators power inflexible guidelines too early, groups might rush modifications, introduce safety gaps, or halt progress altogether. Contemplating this, they urged the regulator to offer concessions to platforms actively transferring towards decentralization.
They famous that this protection would encourage groups to undertake open, non-custodial designs and keep away from penalizing them throughout transition, once they nonetheless have some operational duties.
Not too long ago, a US jury convicted Twister Money co-founder Roman Storm of working an unlicensed cash transmission enterprise. On the identical time, Turkish authorities detained an Ethereum developer accused of aiding the community’s misuse.
These high-profile circumstances have amplified issues throughout the crypto neighborhood concerning the rising authorized pressures going through decentralized protocol builders.
