DEF’s August 2026 Recap

Below you’ll find a recap of what the DeFi Education Fund (DEF) was up to in August 2026. 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 and SPI Submit Comment Letter to FinCEN on GENIUS Act Customer Identification Program Rulemaking

On August 21, 2026, DEF and Solana Policy Institute (SPI) submitted a comment letter responding to the Department of Treasury Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and the federal banking agencies’ joint proposed rule implementing customer identification (CIP) requirements for permitted payment stablecoin issuers (PPSIs) under the GENIUS Act. The proposal would require PPSIs to maintain written, risk-based programs for identifying and verifying their customers.

DEF and SPI support FinCEN’s focus on direct relationships between stablecoin issuers and their customers, but urge the agencies to ensure the final rule does not expand those obligations to secondary-market activity or decentralized infrastructure. 

Importantly, we note that the final rule should preserve the GENIUS Act’s exclusions of distributed ledger protocols, self-custodial interfaces, validators, and liquidity pool participants. Non-custodial software developers, wallet providers, and infrastructure providers should not become PPSI customers merely because their technology is used in connection with a stablecoin transaction.

To read the full comment letter, click here. 

Work Concerning the Clarity Act Continues

On August 8, 2026, Senate Majority Leader John Thune filed cloture on the motion to proceed with the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, preserving a path for Senate consideration when lawmakers return from August recess. Invoking cloture requires 60 votes but is not the final vote for passing the bill.

The cloture motion is set to ripen on September 15, giving senators additional time to resolve remaining negotiations. Although the timing does not guarantee a vote that day, the filing provides a procedural path for the Senate to take up the legislation after recess.

As DEF’s Vice President of Government Relations Talia Davis told The Block: “At least there is acknowledgement that this will happen, or at least some hope that it will happen in September. I think some people in the industry are still very skeptical if that will actually follow through,” while noting that the bill remains a priority for the Senate.

For DeFi, these negotiations remain especially important. The bill includes key protections for noncustodial developers and blockchain infrastructure, especially under the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act (BRCA), and many policymakers and industry participants, including DEF, will be working hard to ensure the protections remain intact as the legislation advances.

August Financial Disclosures

August Content and Media by DEF

Select Media

• The Block:What’s next for the Clarity Act as September brings a tough road ahead
  • Some in the crypto industry were disappointed by the delay, as there had been an expectation that the Senate could at least hold an initial vote before lawmakers returned to their respective states, said Talia Davis, vice president of government relations at the DeFi Education Fund. That leaves just a few weeks next month to have the procedural vote, a vote to potentially pass the bill in the Senate before sending it to the House.

Blogs/Articles/Papers

• DEF and SPI Submit Comment Letter to FinCEN on GENIUS Act Customer Identification Program Rulemaking