Throughout its history of guiding portfolio companies through the US regulatory landscape, Andresseen Horowitz (a16z) has consistently proposed measures to exclude crypto activities from securities laws, and its latest petition to the Securities and Exchange Commission seeks to extend such protection to decentralized finance (DeFi) websites and mobile apps. This request, submitted in collaboration with the DeFi Education Fund, comes on the heels of growing support for DeFi from the White House and SEC Chairman Paul Atkins, encouraging the development of this crypto sector without stringent regulatory hurdles. A recent crypto report from President Donald Trump's administration included recommendations to provide relief for certain DeFi service providers from broker-dealer registration rules.
The core principle of the proposed safe harbor is that only apps that do not pose the risks addressed by the Exchange Act's broker-dealer regulatory framework should be eligible, making registration as a broker under the Exchange Act unnecessary and inappropriate, according to the proposal. Earlier this year, a16z sent a detailed letter to the SEC's Crypto Task Force outlining its preferred safe harbor provisions for network tokens and airdrops, and another proposal requested an exemption for non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
The Andreessen Horowitz crypto arm has also invested in DeFi companies, including Uniswap and Maker. SEC Chairman Atkins, appointed by Trump, has pledged to initiate crypto-friendly measures, even in the absence of long-awaited congressional legislation to establish comprehensive digital asset regulations in the US — an effort still ongoing in the Senate, following a recent House vote to approve such a bill. Atkins announced that his agency is launching 'Project Crypto' to kick-start its initiatives.