SEC’s DeFi Roundtable: Clash of Autonomy vs Regulation Looms

Decentralized finance takes center stage as the SEC prepares to grapple with the industry’s thorniest question—who calls the shots when code replaces cops?

Wall Street’s favorite punching bag gets another hearing. Regulators—armed with subpoenas and skepticism—face off against DeFi builders who’d rather ask forgiveness than permission. The irony? Both sides claim to protect investors.

One thing’s certain: when the suits and the hoodies debate ’autonomous’ systems, someone’s definition of freedom is about to get a compliance makeover—probably yours.

Intersection of DeFi and US regulatory principles

The main discussion, titled “DeFi and the American Spirit,” will take place from 1:30 to 3:00 P.M. and will be moderated by former SEC Commissioner Troy Paredes.

The panel will bring together thought leaders from academia, legal circles, and the blockchain industry to examine how DeFi platforms reflect Core American values such as autonomy, open participation, and market-driven innovation.

Topics are expected to include the potential for peer-to-peer protocols to operate without intermediaries, the challenges of regulating smart contracts, and the risks and benefits of decentralized governance.

The event is open to the public and will be live-streamed on the SEC’s website. While VIRTUAL attendance does not require registration, in-person attendees must register in advance.

Continuing effort toward Clarity

This roundtable is the latest in the SEC’s “Spring Sprint Toward Crypto Clarity,” a multi-part initiative launched in March 2025 to gather industry feedback and inform regulatory policy.

The series opened with a session on how and when digital assets qualify as securities, followed by discussions on regulating crypto trading platforms, custody of digital assets, and the tokenization of traditional financial instruments.

Each roundtable has brought together legal scholars, technologists, and financial professionals to examine how existing rules intersect with emerging blockchain models.

With DeFi challenging traditional regulatory assumptions, the upcoming roundtable is expected to be one of the most pivotal yet. It will explore whether DeFi can be meaningfully integrated into the American regulatory framework while preserving its CORE principles of openness and autonomy.