In a whirlwind of crypto drama, Michele Korver from A16z Crypto is taking a stand and shaking her fist at the U.S. Treasury's new broker reporting rule. She's not mincing words, claiming this rule is a major threat to the future of decentralized finance (DeFi) innovation in the good ol' USA.
In a fiery tweet on December 30, Korver announced A16z's backing of a lawsuit against the rule. The lawsuit, filed by the DeFi Education Fund, the Blockchain Association, and the Texas Blockchain Council, aims to stop regulations from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. These regulations want to broaden the definition of brokers, potentially snaring DeFi trading platforms in their net.
But hold your horses! These DeFi platforms don’t directly deal with transactions, a point the lawsuit highlights. The rule is seen as a massive burden on DeFi entities, allegedly breaking the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) and going beyond what the Treasury is allowed to do.
Korver didn’t hold back, describing the rulemaking process as a rushed “midnight” move that could send DeFi innovation packing overseas. A16z Crypto is geared up to defend the sector with every tool in the shed, from legal challenges to chatting up Congress and the incoming executive branch. Korver reassures developers that lawyers are hustling hard to protect this game-changing tech.
Jake Chervinsky, a big name in crypto policy, chimed in to praise the community’s rapid response to this broker rule. The rule was challenged just 24 hours after its announcement! He’s confident in the evolving policy infrastructure in the U.S. and optimistic about crypto's ability to push back against what he sees as regulatory overreach.
And it’s not just Korver and Chervinsky making noise. Hayden Adams, the brain behind Uniswap, criticized the rule for its timing and potential to stifle DeFi innovation, viewing it as a deliberate move to slow things down. He’s hopeful that legal and legislative efforts will squash the rule.
Uniswap’s CLO, Katherine Minarik, also joined the chorus, slamming the new IRS rule for misclassifying DeFi technology. She argues it oversteps congressional limits, creates unnecessary paperwork, and burdens DeFi to the point of suffocation. All this, she says, is supposedly for mass surveillance on crypto transactions by everyday Americans. For Minarik, DeFi is the remedy to debanking, and she warns against choking it to death.
So, buckle up folks! The battle lines are drawn, and the crypto world is ready to rumble in defense of DeFi innovation.
