Leaked copy of US draft bill shows DeFi and DAOs under regulatory lens

A leaked copy of a United States draft bill concerning cryptocurrency started doing the rounds on Twitter earlier today. The 600-page copy of the leaked bill highlighted some of the key areas of concern for regulators including decentralized finance (DeFi), stablecoins, decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) and crypto exchanges.

here you go

(plz RT) pic.twitter.com/UOVhIUiUBu

— slam (@bot_slam) June 7, 2022

User protection seems to be the primary focus of regulators, with policies intended to require any crypto platform or service provider to legally register in the U.S,, be it a DAO or DeFi protocol.

This could highly curtail chances for anonymous crypto projects to progress in the U.S. Any crypto platform not registered in the U.S would be liable for taxes. The definition of DeFi still seems vague.

The leaked draft bill also tries to offer more clarity on securities laws as they relate to digital assets, a demand that has been persistent from the crypto community and lawmakers alike. According to the definition of a commodity under the Commodity and Futures Trading Commission, if there is any debt, equity, profit revenue, or dividend of any variety, then it is expressly not a digital asset commodity.

The new draft bill proposes to increase exchange compliance costs which in turn could lead to an increase in the exchange fees. Any protocol or platform that trades even one digital asset would be categorized as an exchange, this means automated market makers would fall under the same category.

The bill further ensures that exchanges cannot liquidate users’ funds in cases of bankruptcy. Exchanges must also issue terms of services that consumers will agree to before using their services.

The leaked draft bill proposes clear policies to bring the nascent crypto market under the purview of the law. Many experts believe that even though the listed policies seem to encourage strict oversight, it is important to note that it’s only the draft bill.

13/12

PS- Since this is just the first form of a bill, this is when lobby groups will start to get involved and help try and shape it and iron out some of the clunky language that would be problematic, so it isn’t all hope lost. There is good intent here.

— Adam Cochran (adamscochran.eth) (@adamscochran) June 7, 2022

Dogecoin co-founder Billy Markus also commented on the leaked bill and suggested that the new policies would be tough on DeFi, DAOs and anonymous projects.