Draft copy of a crypto bill sparks intense debate about the future of DeFi
(Kitco News) – Regulation discussions are heating up as a draft copy of the Digital Commodities Consumer Protection Act (DCCPA) bill has been making the rounds online, with some debating whether the new changes will benefit or harm the decentralized finance (DeFi) sector.
The draft bill was made public by Gabriel Shapiro, general counsel for Delphi Labs, who suggested he was doing so because he believes in “transparency and open discussion of the future of cryptolaw.”
Crypto representatives widely panned a previous version of the bill for using too broad of a definition for a “digital commodity platform,” which “could be interpreted as a ban on decentralized finance (DeFi).”
Shapiro highlighted one section of the new draft which amended the meaning of a “digital commodity trading facility” to exclude persons who develop or publish software, commenting that it “could be a boon” to DeFi and crypto.
The general counsel went on to say that the origin of the new language is unknown, and its inclusion is still a matter of significant debate.
“Personally, I do not believe the Bill should be passed without respecting basic software freedoms, and that it will be unconstitutional if it requires licensure/registration of mere software–I encourage others to review the draft and make their opinions known,” Shapiro tweeted.
The bipartisan bill was initially introduced by Sens. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and John Boozman (R-AR) in August. The legislation looks to classify Bitcoin and Ether as commodities, putting them under the jurisdiction of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
After the bill was introduced, Boozman commented during a press call that the crypto industry “almost universally” prefers to be regulated by the CFTC, as reported by The Washington Post.
Many in the industry saw the new draft as a step in the right direction, including Martin Hiesboeck, head of research at crypto exchange UpHold. Hisesoboeck tweeted that the new bill “seems to follow UK/EU [regulations] in broad strokes even though it uses somewhat different terminology,” and added that the “U.S. is finally getting their act together.”
Not all parties view the bill in a positive light; however, including Web3 startup accelerator Alliance DAO, which said that the DCCPA bill “greatly threatens DeFi innovation.”
The DCCPA greatly threatens DeFi innovation.
The proposed bill:
– gives CFTC new powers to regulate spot markets
– forces human intermediation
– forces projects to sacrifice decentralizationIt favors centralized incumbents and kills startups.
Alliance opposes the DCCPA. ??
— Alliance ?? (@alliancedao) October 19, 2022
Other concerns voiced by the DAO include the fact that the bill does not clarify what a digital commodity is or make a clear distinction between tokens that are commodities and those that aren’t.
These developments come as DeFi activity in the U.S. is under increasing scrutiny amid a push to regulate the digital asset sector. According to data provided by Chainalysis, the U.S. accounts for 37% of all DeFi activity, followed by Western Europe, which accounts for 31%.
When combined with other crypto transactions, the U.S. accounted for more than $1 trillion over the last year, meaning that U.S. investors were involved in one in every five crypto transactions.
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