A new advocacy group has launched a nationwide advertising campaign opposing the inclusion of decentralized finance (DeFi) in upcoming cryptocurrency legislation.
This move is intensifying lobbying battles as the critical Senate vote on the Cryptocurrency Market Structure Act approaches.
'Investors for Transparency' group criticizes DeFi with supporters undisclosed
This group, known as 'Investors for Transparency,' has begun airing advertisements during Fox News' prime-time programming.
The advertisement urges viewers to lobby senators to exclude DeFi from the favorable regulatory framework scheduled for review by the Senate Banking Committee on January 16. This regulation is expected to be included in the market structure bill.
The campaign has quickly drawn backlash from major leaders in the cryptocurrency industry and pro-crypto lawmakers. Some argue the group represents traditional financial interests seeking to stifle competition.
U.S. Representative Warren Davidson criticized the campaign, calling the defensive measures taken by existing financial institutions to maintain the status quo.
"Decentralized Finance (DeFi) threatens large financial institutions and surveillance states. With DeFi, intermediaries can be eliminated, costs reduced, and privacy protected. In short, DeFi helps safeguard freedom, which is why they want to crush it in its infancy," he said.
Industry insiders have also noted the irony in the group's name.
The organization's website states its mission as building a golden age of sustainable financial innovation based on trust and integrity, yet it has not disclosed its funding sources or leadership.
"The group called 'Investors for Transparency' is running public advertisements and lobbying efforts to exclude DeFi—the world's most transparent financial system—from the regulatory framework. Ironically, their website does not disclose their investors," said Hayden Adams, founder of the DeFi protocol Uniswap.
This debate also highlights the fundamental tension raised by the bill: how to apply existing financial regulations to software protocols that operate without centralized intermediaries.
The bill aims to provide a consistent framework for digital asset exchanges, custody, and classification. However, DeFi remains the most contentious issue.
Regulators argue that strict oversight is necessary to prevent money laundering, while developers claim applying bank-like compliance to code is technically impossible.
Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott stated that the bill aims to establish new rules that balance innovation and security.
Chairman Scott described the framework as designed to encourage confidence among domestic businesses while making it difficult for criminals and adversarial foreign actors to abuse the technology.
Industry experts expect the committee to soon release its final draft on the DeFi provisions.