Below you’ll find a recap of what the DeFi Education Fund (DEF) was up to in December 2025. If you have any questions or would like to learn more about a specific activity, please do not hesitate to reach out to contact@defieducationfund.org.

DEF Submits Letter to SEC Responding to Citadel’s Mischaracterizations of DeFi

On December 12, 2025, DEF, a16z Crypto, The Digital Chamber, Orca Creative, J.W. Verret, and Uniswap Foundation submitted a response to Citadel Securities’ letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) advocating for the SEC to regulate DeFi technologies, developers, and blockchain infrastructure providers as securities intermediaries. In their letter, Citadel blatantly miscited DEF and misrepresented how DeFi technology works.

DEF’s letter addresses Citadel’s misleading arguments about DeFi technology. Importantly, we cite-check Citadel and highlight their faulty citations and mischaracterizations of the source material in an easy-to-read table. 

DEF will continue to advocate for an accurate characterization of DeFi technology, protecting developers and the ecosystem from misrepresentation and improper regulatory treatment. We are thankful to our cosignatories for joining us and standing up for DeFi.

To read the full letter, click here. 

Filing Amicus Brief in US v. Peraire-Bueno

On December 22, 2025, DEF filed an amicus brief in US v. Peraire-Bueno to make the point that the DOJ’s novel theory of wire fraud violates the defendants’ Due Process rights. 

Our brief argues that due process “requires the government to impose new rules on novel technologies through lawmaking, not prosecutions.”

To read the full brief, click here. 

Closing Out 2025 with a Letter from DEF’s Executive Director

On December 22, 2025, DEF published a year-end note from DEF’s Executive Director & Chief Legal Officer, Amanda Tuminelli. The note serves as a lookback on 2025 as well as a preview on what we expect to happen in 2026.

As Amanda writes, “2025 was filled with many memorable and significant moments […] From leading the largest coalition in crypto (committed to ensuring protections for software developers are in the market structure bill Congress continues to work on) to working directly with lawmakers and policymakers to help them better understand the nuances of DeFi technology, DEF has been busy. We met with 50+ Congressional offices, worked on 20+ draft bills, engaged on 20+ regulatory submissions and requests for information, published 50+ blog posts and articles, and wrote 6 amicus briefs. From Congress to the courts, we showed up for DeFi technology and developers wherever we could.”

Amanda also posited that in 2026, “we will continue to engage with Congress on market structure legislation and also see multiple agency rulemakings.

To read Amanda’s letter, click here.

To read DEF’s 2025 policy recap, click here. 

DEF’s Amanda Tuminelli Speaks at Blockchain Association Policy Summit 

On December 8-9, 2025, the Blockchain Association hosted its annual Policy Summit, featuring crypto discussions with key policymakers, regulators, and industry leaders. DEF’s Executive Director & Chief Legal Officer, Amanda Tuminelli, spoke on the “Rulemaking and the Road Ahead” panel alongside Jason Gottlieb, Judd Littleton, and DEF board member Jake Chervinsky as moderator.

The panel focused on the current and future regulatory rulemaking landscape. Now that the GENIUS Act has been enacted into law as the first comprehensive federal framework for payment stablecoins–a major milestone for digital asset policy–focus is turning to its regulatory implementation. Panelists discussed the path to compliance under GENIUS, including how regulators might translate the requirements for reserves, issuance, and oversight into workable rules for the industry, and the remaining questions around the treatment of existing issuers. Panelists also discussed the potential for clarity from the SEC, including a possible innovation exemption for crypto assets.

For a breakdown of the panel, check out this helpful thread from DEF’s CCO, Jennifer Rosenthal. 

DEF Publishes “10 Things to Know About Decentralized Finance” Explainer

On December 2, 2025, DEF published an explainer, entitled: “10 Things to Know About Decentralized Finance.” 

Designed for those interested in learning about DeFi but unclear on  where to start, DEF gives some quick hits on what DeFi is, why it matters, and how it works.

To read the full piece, click here. 

December Financial Disclosures

Donations Received	$40,000
Lobbyists	$35,000
Public Relations	$900
Policy Litigation
Marcomm & Fundraising	$2,397.18
Operating Expense	$371,198.50

December Content and Media by DEF

Select Media

• CoinDesk: Most Influential: Roman Storm
  • Amanda Tuminelli, executive director and chief legal officer at the DeFi Education Fund, told CoinDesk that Storm’s prosecution has “contributed to a culture of fear” among DeFi developers.

“At base, what Roman did was provide a privacy solution that the Ethereum community wanted and asked for, and that Github gave him a grant to work on,” Tuminelli said. “He created a non-custodial protocol that other people used to transfer their own money. I think a lot of people can see, ‘This could happen to me, I’m building in the space, I’m building a non-custodial protocol, could I be next?’ And I think that really resonated with people across the industry.”

Blogs/Articles/Papers

• Reflecting on 2025: A Note from DEF’s Executive Director
• Inside 2025’s Biggest Crypto Policy Breakthroughs
• Our Collective Response to Citadel Securities
• 10 Things to Know About Decentralized Finance

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