Government Shutdown Over: What Does It Mean for DeFi?

On November 13, 2025, President Trump signed into law a government funding bill to end the 43-day shutdown and fund the government through January 30, 2026. The funding bill was passed by the House and Senate earlier this week. 

Among other things, the shutdown has slowed progress on crypto-related policymaking,  particularly crypto market structure legislation and related rulemakings. That said, we expect progress to continue shortly: 

• On November 10, the Senate Agriculture Committee released its bipartisan crypto market structure discussion draft, signaling that discussions are expected to return in full swing. (More below.)
• The nomination hearing for Michael Selig to become CFTC Chair is scheduled for November 19, potentially ushering in new leadership with a great understanding of digital assets. 
• Further, activity at the agency level, such as SEC actions on the proposed “innovation safe-harbor” and other potential rulemakings listed on its spring agenda may fuel building in DeFi innovation. 

Senate Agriculture Committee Released Market Structure Draft

On November 10, 2025, Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman John Boozman (R-AR) and Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) released a bipartisan discussion draft of its portion of the crypto market structure legislation. The draft has similarities to the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act passed by the House of Representatives in July, which establishes a definition for “digital commodity” and includes provisions for customer protections, CFTC oversight, and self-custody. The full text of the Agriculture Committee’s discussion draft is available here. 

The draft identifies unresolved issues marked in brackets, signaling areas that lawmakers have not yet reached consensus on. Notably, the entire section on DeFi (Section 208) and anti-money laundering (Section 213) are bracketed. DEF is hopeful the Senate Agriculture Committee will fill Section 208 with the robust developer protections similar to those outlined in Section 501 of the Senate Banking Committee’s discussion draft of the Responsible Financial Innovation Act, which clearly differentiates between intermediaries and noncustodial technology. 

Section 107 (Treatment of Certain Noncontrolling [Blockchain] Developers) is also bracketed and includes language from the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act, which expressly protects “non-controlling blockchain developers or providers of a blockchain service” from being misclassified as money transmitters. DEF hopes that this section will be retained in the final bill text.  

In August 2025, DEF led a group of 115+ organizations in submitting a coalition letter to the Senate Banking and Agriculture Committees advocating for robust developer protections to be included in the final digital asset market structure legislation. As Amanda Tuminelli, Executive Director and Chief Legal Officer at DEF, stated: “We are hoping that the DeFi section left open for DeFi will be filled in with robust developer protections that clearly distinguish centralized intermediaries from software developers without custody and control of other people’s money.” 

Chair John Boozman confirmed that the Senate Agriculture Committee is committed to holding a markup for this bill in early December. At DEF, we appreciate the opportunity to engage with Congressional leaders and their staff, and are happy to be a resource for all lawmakers looking to better understand how DeFi works.

Michael Selig’s CFTC Chair Nomination Hearing Scheduled for Nov. 19

The Senate Agriculture Committee will hold Michael Selig’s nomination hearing for Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chairman seat on November 19, 2025. As highlighted in a prior DeFi Debrief, Selig has extensive regulatory and crypto experience. He is expected to help modernize the CFTC’s approach to digital asset innovation and strengthen America’s competitiveness, including in DeFi. 

SEC Speech on Commission’s Approach to Digital Assets: Inside “Project Crypto”

On November 12, 2025, SEC Chair Paul Atkins delivered a speech at the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia’s Fintech Conference. In his speech, Chair Atkins said that in the coming months, he anticipates that the SEC will consider “establishing a token taxonomy that is anchored in the longstanding Howey investment contract securities analysis,” as well as “exemptions to create a tailored offering regime for crypto assets that are part of or subject to an investment contract.” Chair Atkins also underscored the importance of “fit-for-purpose legislation” and expressed support for Congressional efforts to pass market structure legislation by year-end.

Notably, Chair Atkins reemphasized that, in his opinion, most crypto tokens trading today, such as “digital commodities,” “network tokens,” “digital collectibles,” and “digital tools,” are not themselves securities and said that the SEC will draw clear lines for the various categories of crypto assets. The SEC is also working to provide clear and simple ways to understand one’s obligations under the securities laws. 

Further, the speech reaffirms the SEC’s commitment to working on a package of exemptions, which potentially includes the token safe harbor rulemakings. This had been previously raised in the SEC Spring 2025 Agenda, as well as by SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce in her Token Safe Harbor Proposal 2.0 and February 2025 Request for Information. DEF supports a thoughtfully crafted safe harbor and submitted Guiding Principles for a Token Safe Harbor and Recommendations Regarding a Safe Harbor for Applications from Broker Registration Requirements, along with a16z, to the SEC Crypto Task Force.

7th Annual Global Hedge Fund Report Displays Signals DeFi Adoption

On November 6, 2025, the Alternative Investment Management Association (AIMA) released its 7th Annual Global Crypto Hedge Fund Report. The report finds that as the global regulatory and U.S. policy landscape becomes more crypto-friendly, institutional investor engagement with digital assets has strengthened.

Notably, one of the key takeaways of the report states: “Hedge funds eye DeFi as the next frontier: 43% of traditional hedge funds with some exposure to crypto are planning to increase or begin engagement with decentralised finance (DeFi) over the next three years. Nearly one-third of these managers also believe DeFi will disrupt their operations within the same timeframe.” This marks a major growth opportunity for the DeFi market.

Read the full report here.

DeFi Dictionary

Good consumer protection and the fight against illicit conduct starts with today’s word of the week: cybersecurity.

Notable and Quotable 

“The CFTC is the right agency to regulate spot digital commodity trading, and it is essential to establish clear rules for the emerging crypto market while also protecting consumers. This discussion draft advances those goals and lays an important marker as we work toward final policy language.” 

—Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman John Boozman (R-AR) commented on the Senate Agriculture Committee crypto market structure discussion draft

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