DeFi Heavyweights Demand Action: Andreesen Horowitz & Education Fund Push SEC for Blockchain ’Safe Harbor’
Wall Street's regulators just got a crypto ultimatum—delivered by two of the industry's biggest players.
The DeFi Education Fund and VC titan Andreesen Horowitz are turning up the heat on the SEC, demanding clear rules for blockchain projects before another $2B in innovation flees overseas. Their proposed 'safe harbor' would give developers breathing room—assuming the SEC remembers its mandate is to protect markets, not strangle them in red tape.
Meanwhile in Washington... bureaucrats debate whether Bitcoin is a security while stablecoins quietly eat their lunch.
SEC Asked to Create Blockchain Safe Harbor
Both the DeFi Education Fund and a16z submitted proposals to the SEC on August 12 in a bid to persuade the federal regulator to create a “safe harbor” for blockchain-powered apps.
We were thrilled to partner with @a16zcrypto in this SAFE harbor submission to the SEC.
To learn more about our submission, check out our blog post in the reply
https://t.co/VObzHJoUBR pic.twitter.com/cYBEa4Z0Uq
“The SEC has previously taken the position—through enforcement actions and Wells notices—that developers of apps could be deemed brokers if they enabled users to transact in securities,” the blog post reads.
As a solution, the two entities posit that the SEC provides a “rebuttable presumption” that software interfaces used for peer-to-peer transactions WOULD not be engaged in “broker-dealer activity.”
“Concerns about the SEC’s prior approach aren’t just about inconvenient regulatory burdens,” the blog post states.
“Requiring broker registration for neutral apps would force software developers to take on roles and responsibilities they never assumed—acting as gatekeepers, taking custody, and intermediating activity—all of which undermine the benefits of blockchain systems and create new risks for users,” the blog post continues.
Will the SEC Go Through With the Crypto-Focused Proposal?
News of a16z and the DeFi Education Fund’s submitted proposals comes just months after a16z urged SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce to construct a “digital collectible” safe harbor at the federal regulator.
“The Commission should create a safe harbor (either through a Commission-level policy statement, by providing Commission-level guidance, or by adopting formal rules) that provides objective conditions under which ordinary transactions of collectible tokens are excluded from securities laws,” a16z’s March letter to Peirce states.
Taken together, the proposals reflect a continuing push by industry advocates to persuade the SEC to carve out regulatory space that shields blockchain developers from unintended legal obligations while preserving the technology’s Core benefits.
