DeFi Debrief: Week of March 2
March 9, 2026
Court Dismisses Risley v. Uniswap; The Financial Reporting Threshold Modernization Act; OCC Rulemaking; SEC & CFTC at Milken Institute
Federal Court Dismisses Risley v. Uniswap
On March 2, 2026, Judge Katherine Polk Failla of the Southern District of New York issued an opinion and order dismissing the remaining state law claims in Risley v. Universal Navigation Inc. with prejudice. A dismissal “with prejudice” means the claims cannot be brought again in a separate lawsuit. The ruling reinforces the core principle that developers should not face liability for misconduct by third parties simply because the developers built neutral financial infrastructure.
Initially filed in April 2022, Risley alleged that Universal Navigation Inc. (Uniswap Labs), the company that develops the Uniswap interface, and its CEO were liable for fraud, arguing that facilitating the trading of scam tokens through the interface caused investors to lose money. The complaint, however, fundamentally mischaracterized the role of Uniswap Labs in the DeFi technology stack, as no one at Uniswap Labs “facilitates” or intermediates transactions on the underlying protocol. The court previously rejected this expansive theory in earlier proceedings, and in the March 2, 2026 decision, Judge Failla reiterated that “simply providing the platform on which a fraud takes place is not the same as substantially assisting that fraud.” In dismissing the claims, Judge Failla said:
“No matter how they try to dress up their allegations, Plaintiffs are basically alleging that Defendants substantially assisted fraud by providing ordinary services that anyone could use for lawful purposes, but that some used for unlawful purposes. Such an argument fails for the same reasons why a bank does not substantially assist a money launderer who washes his cash through the bank’s accounts, and why WhatsApp does not substantially assist a drug dealer who coordinates a sale on its messaging service: Simply providing the platform on which a fraud takes place is not the same as substantially assisting that fraud.”
For a deeper dive into the plaintiff’s initial claims and prior dismissals, see DEF’s previous blog posts on the case here and here.
The Financial Reporting Threshold Modernization Act Introduced in the House
On January 23, 2026, the House Financial Services Committee (HFSC) advanced six bills, including H.R. 1799, the Financial Reporting Threshold Modernization Act, introduced by Representative Barry Loudermilk (R-GA). The bill passed HFSC by a 30-24 vote and now advances to the House floor for consideration.
The bill seeks to modernize anti-money laundering and financial surveillance reporting thresholds by adjusting them for inflation. Specifically, it would raise the cash transaction reporting threshold from $10,000 to $30,000. The bill would also require the Treasury Department to report annually to Congress on the effectiveness of these updated requirements.
Regular reporting to Congress on the effectiveness of these thresholds is particularly important given growing evidence that existing financial surveillance and data collection requirements under the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) collect vast amounts of sensitive data while providing limited demonstrable value in combating illicit finance. This concern has been highlighted by several articles, including DEF’s paper entitled, “The BSA is Broken,” as well as research by Nicholas Anthony at the Cato Institute.
The full bill is available here.
OCC Opens En-Bloc GENIUS Act Implementation Rulemaking
On February 25, 2026, the Department of Treasury Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) issued a notice of proposed rulemaking to implement the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act, outlining the regulatory framework for permitted payment stablecoin issuers.
The notice of proposed rulemaking, issued en bloc, seeks public comment on regulations that would apply to permitted payment stablecoin issuers, foreign stablecoin issuers under the OCC’s jurisdiction, and certain custody activities conducted by OCC-supervised entities. Comments must be submitted within the 60-day period, by May 1, 2026.
Notably, the proposed rulemaking raises several questions that may impact DeFi technology and developers, particularly around how key statutory terms should be defined under the framework. These include the scope of “digital asset service provider,” the meaning of “distributed ledger,” and how concepts such as “private key” and “stablecoin holder” should be interpreted. These definitional issues may affect whether certain noncustodial or infrastructure-level activities fall within the regulatory perimeter of the GENIUS Act.
The OCC also seeks comment on technical and operational issues such as cross-chain transfers, minting and burning mechanisms, and interoperability across blockchains. The full proposed rulemaking is available here.
CFTC and SEC Panel at the Milken Institute
On March 3, 2026, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Paul Atkins and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chairman Michael Selig participated in a panel hosted by the Milken Institute to discuss Project Crypto, regulatory harmonization, and initiatives to unleash innovation in the United States.
Notably, during the panel, CFTC Chairman Selig said:
“We really believe that there’s a spectrum of decentralized finance and on-chain markets, and some of it may implicate our rules and regulations. Other[s] of it doesn’t, but to the extent that something does, we need to create a path for that here in the US. So we’re really interested in following the SEC and having some sort of innovation exemption that allows for firms to create new products without the fear of, you know, regulation by enforcement that the prior administration brought.”
You can watch the full conversation here.
DEF’s Executive Director Joins Crypto in America
On February 27, 2026, Amanda Tuminelli, DEF’s Executive Director & Chief Legal Officer, joined Crypto in America to chat about the bipartisan Promoting Innovation in Blockchain Development Act of 2026, the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act (BRCA), recent developments on market structure, and why software developer protections matter.
To learn more about the new bill, read DEF’s blog post here, which outlines the legislation, explains its significance, and highlights prior advocacy addressing the misapplication of Section 1960.
Watch the full interview here.
DeFi Dictionary
Ever wonder how networks keep functioning? Our word of the week, Gas Fee, is a core mechanism that keeps decentralized networks operating efficiently.
Notable and Quotable
“[T]here is nothing violative of public policy … [or] unethical … about creating a platform to access a marketplace where millions of users can lawfully swap tokens, even if fraud might occur on that marketplace. Just as the NASDAQ and the New York Stock Exchange are not ‘liable as facilitators of any fraudulent stock purchase on their exchanges,’ neither is [Uniswap] Labs liable for creating access to an exchange that facilitates cryptocurrency token trades.”
– Judge Katherine Polk Failla, Risley v. Universal Navigation Inc., No. 22 Civ. 2780 (KPF), 2026 WL 572065, at *19, 28 (S.D.N.Y. Mar. 2, 2026).
