On June 9, a roundtable hosted by SEC Chairman Paul Atkins, focused on cryptocurrencies, signaled multiple indications that crypto and DeFi participants may be heading towards a favorable situation. This marks the most supportive stance from U.S. regulators towards DeFi in history, although most have yet to realize this. While formal legislation has not yet occurred, this could very well be the catalyst for a new wave of DeFi resurgence led by the U.S.

Key positive signals from the SEC roundtable

1. Financial Independence

2. Eliminate the uncertainty of the Howey Test: Staking, mining, and validators — not securities

3. On-chain product innovation exemptions

4. Self-custody is protected

5. Publicly supporting Trump’s pro-crypto agenda

6. Encouragement for on-chain resilience

Coins that directly benefit

The most direct beneficiaries of regulatory clarity are the protocols that constitute the backbone of DeFi infrastructure. These protocols typically possess high Total Value Locked (TVL), mature governance structures, and clear utility functions that align with traditional financial services.

Liquid Staking Protocols:

With the clarification of staking rules, protocols like Lido Finance ($LDO), Rocket Pool ($RPL), and Frax Ether ($FXS) are expected to attract institutional funds seeking compliant staking solutions. As regulatory barriers are removed, the $47 billion liquid staking market could see significant growth.

Decentralized Exchanges:

Uniswap ($UNI), Curve ($CRV), and similar protocols benefit from self-custody protection and enjoy innovation exemptions. These platforms can launch more complex financial products without facing regulatory delays.

Lending Protocols:

Aave ($AAVE), Compound ($COMP), and MakerDAO ($MKR) are able to expand their institutional products as regulations become clearer, especially in automated lending and synthetic asset creation.

Leaders in the RWA Space:

Ondo Finance, Maple Finance, and Centrifuge are expected to accelerate institutional adoption of tokenized securities, corporate credit, and structured products. The current TVL in the RWA space is approximately $8 billion, and this sector could rapidly expand if the regulatory path becomes clearer.

How to prepare for the upcoming DeFi bull market?

Betting on highly reliable DeFi protocols

Focus on protocols expected to benefit from regulatory clarity:

Staking and LST: cbETH from Lido, RocketPool, etherfi, Coinbase

Decentralized Exchanges: Uniswap, Curve, GMX, SushiSwap

Stablecoin Protocols: MakerDAO, Ethena, Frax

RWA Protocols: Ondo, Maple, Centrifuge

Hoard governance tokens

Tokens of core DeFi infrastructure (especially those with high TVL and good regulatory compliance) are likely to benefit: $UNI, $LDO, $AAVE, $RPL, $MKR, $FXS, $CRV.

Participate in on-chain governance

Participate in governance forums and engage in delegated voting. Regulators may prefer protocols with transparent and decentralized governance.

For retail participants, the focus should be on mature protocols with clear regulatory positioning and strong fundamentals. A conservative strategy allocates 60% of funds to liquid staking protocols and mainstream DEXs, 25% to lending protocols, and 15% to emerging categories with high upside potential.

Return Potential Analysis

Token Appreciation: As institutional adoption accelerates and protocol utility improves, regulatory clarity typically positions governance tokens for a 3 to 5 times appreciation.

Yield Generation: DeFi protocols offer annual yields of 4-15% through various mechanisms such as staking rewards, trading fees, and lending interest. As institutional capital enters the market, regulatory clarity can stabilize and potentially enhance these yields.

Innovative Access: Early participation in innovation exemption protocols may yield extraordinarily high returns (5 to 10 times), as these projects will develop new financial primitives and capture market share in emerging categories.

Compound Effect: The combination of token appreciation, yield generation, and governance participation can yield compounded returns, significantly exceeding traditional investment options over a 12 to 24 month period.

The current environment presents a rare combination of regulatory clarity, technological advancements, and market underestimation. Protocols and strategies that can attract institutional capital flows in the next 18 months are likely to determine the next phase of growth and value creation for DeFi.