PANews reported on October 10th that Democrats on the U.S. Senate Banking Committee proposed a DeFi regulation proposal, which has been criticized by Republicans and the industry. The six-page proposal would require the U.S. Treasury and financial regulators to define "control/influence" and determine whether a protocol is "sufficiently decentralized." It would also designate individuals or institutions that "design, deploy, control, or operate the front end" or "derive substantial benefits from DeFi protocols" as "intermediaries." Republicans called the proposal "non-legislative and lacking in policy logic," while Variant Fund Legal Director Jake Chervinsky called it "essentially equivalent to a crypto ban." The Senate is still advancing the crypto market structure bill, which needs to be coordinated with the House version; the Agriculture Committee has yet to release the CFTC draft.


