Citadel’s DeFi Regulation Push Sparks Crypto Industry Backlash
Citadel Securities faces mounting criticism from decentralized finance proponents after urging the SEC to treat tokenized equity trading as regulated market activity. The firm's letter argues current exemptions risk creating parallel regulatory regimes for identical securities.
Uniswap founder Hayden Adams and SEC Commissioner Caroline Mersinger were among prominent figures condemning the proposal. Citadel maintains its position WOULD prevent regulatory arbitrage, asserting a tokenized stock traded on DeFi protocols should face identical oversight as traditional markets.
The controversy highlights growing tensions between institutional trading firms and DeFi builders. Market participants now await SEC response to Citadel's petition, which could set precedents for how tokenized traditional assets interact with decentralized protocols.
