DeFi Debrief: Week of February 9, 2026
February 14, 2026
Week of February 9, 2026: DEF submits comment letter to UK FCA; House & Senate hold SEC hearings; Senate Judiciary Committee advances the GUARD Act
DEF Submits DeFi-Focused Comment Letter to UK FCA
On February 12, 2026, DEF submitted a comment letter to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the United Kingdom’s financial regulatory authority, in response to Consultation Paper CP25/40, which seeks feedback on proposed rules for cryptoasset regulation in the UK.
Our comment letter encourages the FCA to adopt a clear and well-defined standard of control in finalizing the cryptoasset framework outlined in CP25/40, and to preserve regulatory flexibility for crypto markets and decentralized finance (DeFi). Specifically, we encourage the FCA to align its framework with a control-based approach, consistent with the 2019 Guidance issued by Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). Doing so would ensure that DeFi protocols, front-end interfaces, and protocol developers are not regulated as intermediaries where they do not exercise control over user assets or transactions.
Related News
- “U.S.-based DeFi group urges UK FCA to anchor crypto rules to ‘unilateral control’ Coindesk – link
House and Senate Hold SEC Oversight Hearings
On February 4, 2026, the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Capital Markets held a hearing entitled, “A New Day at the SEC: Restoring Accountability, Due Process, and Public Confidence.” The hearing focused on concerns regarding the SEC’s current regulatory challenges and called for greater transparency. During the hearing, Rep. Warren Davidson (R-OH) criticized the agency’s past approach to DeFi, highlighting the need to establish regulatory protections for developers.
On February 11, 2026, the House Financial Services Committee held a hearing entitled, “Oversight of the Securities and Exchange Commission.” During the hearing, members of the committee discussed manipulative behaviors in the market and tokenization. Notably, Rep. Warren Davidson (R-OH) emphasized the importance of self-custody as a core American value and called for incorporating the protection of such rights in the coming market structure bill.
On February 12, 2026, the Senate Banking Committee held its own SEC oversight hearing. During the hearing, SEC Chairman Paul Atkins highlighted the agency’s coordination efforts with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), addressed lawmakers’ concerns about oversight of DeFi, and pullbacks in enforcement in major crypto cases.
Senate Judiciary Committee Advances the GUARD Act
On February 5, 2026, the Senate Judiciary Committee advanced the Guarding Unprotected Aging Retirees from Deception (GUARD) Act, legislation designed to leverage blockchain technology to strengthen financial fraud investigations. Championed by Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), the GUARD Act aims to take a critical step in modernizing fraud prevention efforts for older Americans. By expanding resources for law enforcement investigations such as blockchain tracing tools, the bill directly addresses tech-enabled scams targeting seniors.
The full bill is available here.
DeFi Dictionary
In line with the comment letter DEF submitted to the FCA, this week’s phrase of the week underscores that global regulators need to keep the nuances of DeFi in mind as they’re developing crypto rules.
Notable and Quotable
“In recent years, the SEC has advanced other legal theories – they were rebuked in court even for arbitrary and capricious actions, including efforts to treat decentralized finance protocols as securities. They held software developers and programmers liable for how their code was used. This would be like holding Bill Gates accountable for somebody tracking illicit finance in Excel.”
——Rep. Warren Davidson (R-OH), speech at the HFSC Hearing entitled “A New Day at the SEC: Restoring Accountability, Due Process, and Public Confidence”
