#CryptoRoundTableRemarks At the final roundtable on DeFi (June 9), SEC Chairman Paul Atkins announced plans for an "innovation exemption" to ease regulatory barriers for decentralized finance platforms, allowing developers to bring on-chain products to market faster without fear of liability for third-party use.

Republican commissioners, including Hester Peirce, emphasized protecting First Amendment rights for code publishers, though Peirce cautioned against centralized entities exploiting the "decentralized" label to evade rules.

The roundtable highlighted a partisan divide, with Democrat Caroline Crenshaw expressing skepticism about rushed regulatory changes, citing unresolved risks like scalability and investor protection.

Industry panelists, such as ShapeShift’s Erik Voorhees, praised the SEC’s shifted tone but called for formal rules beyond temporary staff guidance.

Meanwhile, the SEC’s dismissal of enforcement cases (e.g., Binance) signals a broader pullback from Biden-era crackdowns, though state and private litigation may fill the gap.