The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has hired a blockchain analytics company to start the monitor and regulate the decentralized finance (DeFi) industry.
the analysis company AnChain.AI, based in San Jose, announced the partnership on Twitter on Friday (27). According to the statement, Anchain.ai has signed an initial one-year contract of $125,000 for the job, but may sign another five annual contracts with the SEC to get $625 thousand.
“The SEC is very interested in understanding what is happening in the world of digital assets based on smart contracts. Therefore, we provide them with technologies to analyze and track smart contracts”, explained Victor Fang, co-founder and CEO of AnChain.AI.
https://t.co/KssYwDPJ1l is committed to safe, transparent, and fully accessible #DeFi ecosystem. We’re proud to work with the SEC to protect all #Crypto stakeholders in the virtual asset economy, and to contribute our technology to critical regulatory oversight efforts. https://t.co/rfdomzXspr — AnChain.AI (@AnChainAI) August 27, 2022
SEC with an eye on DeFi
The AI and machine learning startup specializes in tracking transactions at cryptocurrency brokers, DeFi platforms and traditional financial institutions. The total capitalization of DeFi project tokens exceeds $122 billion, and the daily trading volume at the largest decentralized broker Uniswap reaches $1.8 billion. Many transactions involve currencies that can be classified as bonds, and the trading platforms themselves are gaining attention from regulators. In early August, SEC chairman Gary Gensler warned of tightening DeFi regulations. He then emphasized that the decentralized nature of the projects does not confer immunity from agency oversight.
“DeFi operations are not immune from oversight because they use the word ‘decentralized’”, warned Gensler. Earlier this month, Gensler told the WSJ that the DeFi market will soon be regulated:
“There’s still a core group of people who aren’t just developing software, but often have governance and fees… There’s some incentive structure for developers and sponsors in between.”
The DeFi industry is currently handling over $80 billion in digital assets. As the SEC continues its investigations, many of these assets will likely be considered bonds. The hiring came shortly after the SEC chairman issued a warning to Fox Business earlier this month about the potential risks associated with the DeFi industry.
“Our focus is on investor protection. We are technology neutral, Bitcoin and other cryptographic tokens… and their innovative technologies. But at the same time, we are not neutral about investor protection. So, if someone is on a project that offers a title, it must be regulated”
These so-called decentralized financial platforms actually have a lot of centralization. There is a group of entrepreneurs who are operating these platforms and they should come, work with us and register.”