SEC: crypto is the future of American finance

This week, the chairman of the SEC delivered some extraordinarily pro-crypto remarks. In a speech titled “DeFi and the American Spirit”, Paul Atkins laid out a vision for blockchain technology that not only embraces crypto staples like self-custody, decentralized infrastructure, and open-source financial systems, but explicitly challenges the relevance of legacy regulatory frameworks.

Chairman Atkins described decentralized finance as a free-market system rooted in “the American values of economic liberty, private property rights, and innovation.” He openly criticized the prior administration’s crackdown on staking, wallets, and onchain development, and called for a formal regulatory exemption to accelerate permissionless innovation. “We should not automatically fear the future,” he said. “Self-executing code that is accessible to everyone but controlled by no one… may sound like science fiction, but blockchain makes it possible.”

Following-through on these remarks, Atkins has asked staff to craft a conditional exemptive relief framework (an “innovation exemption”) to fast-track compliant onchain products. He also endorsed self-custody as a protected right: “The right to have self-custody of one’s private property is a foundational American value that should not disappear when one logs onto the internet.”

To read the official version of the full speech, click here. Its fascinating.

We’ve been highlighting the 180-degree shift in tone coming out of the U.S. for some time now. Seeing that shift translate into concrete action is the next major step. The SEC isn’t just acknowledging crypto anymore, it’s starting to articulate what a future financial system could look like if built on blockchain rails.

Also this week

• SEC Chair Paul Atkins says the right to self-custody is a 'foundational American value'
• Stripe acquires crypto wallet provider Privy
• Polymarket to serve as official prediction market of Elon Musk’s X
• Gemini crypto exchange confidentially files for IPO
• French bank Societe Generale to launch US dollar-pegged stablecoin on Ethereum and Solana
• US Senate schedules final GENIUS stablecoin bill vote for June 17

Relevant financial updates

• Privy*, a tool that makes it easy to build on crypto rails through one simple API, has been acquired by Stripe. With this move, Stripe is quietly assembling the first full-stack alternative to centralized exchanges combining Stripe’s fiat onramp, Privy’s embedded wallets, and Bridge’s stablecoin infrastructure into a seamless user flow. The old flow (fiat → centralized exchange → wallet → app) is being replaced with a simpler one: fiat → app
• Resolv*, a company developing a true delta-neutral stablecoin that is independent from real world assets’ risks, had its TGE and is now trading at a $252mln FDV
• DeFi App, an “everything app” combining the magic of centralized finance and decentralized finance, had its TGE and is now trading at a $245mln FDV
• Burstverse*, a Web3 platform that enables users to perform decentralized finance and centralized finance operations through a conversational AI interface, has raised an undisclosed amount in a Seed funding round with investments from Borderless Capital, Big Brain Holdings, Lattice Capital, Selini Capital, Symbolic Capital and 2 others
• IOST, a decentralized blockchain platform with an innovative "Proof of Believability" consensus that supports application development with JavaScript, has raised $21mln in a Strategic funding round with investments from DWF Labs, Presto Labs and Rollman Management Digital
• Turnkey*, a provider of infrastructure services for secure management of private keys in the crypto space, has raised $30mln in a Series B funding round with investments from Galaxy Ventures, Sequoia Capital, Wintermute, Variant, Faction VC and 1 other
• Orange Cap Games*, a game and experience design studio that develops and publishes physical and digital trading card games, has raised $3.50mln in a Seed funding round with investments from 1kx, Infinity Ventures Crypto, Bing Ventures and Yuga Labs
• Hypernative, a technology company specializing in proactive security and risk prevention for Web3 environments, has raised $40mln in a Series B funding round with investments from Quantstamp, Boldstart Ventures, StepStone Group, IBI Tech Fund, Ten Eleven Ventures and 1 other
• NuConstruct*, a crypto infrastructure firm that provides a trustless on‑chain orderflow execution layer, has raised $6mln in a Seed funding round with investments from Digital Currency Group, Maven 11 Capital, Greenfield Capital, Eden Block and cyber.Fund
• Noah, a financial services provider offering API‑enabled cross‑border payment infrastructure that connects fiat and stablecoins, has raised $22mln in a Seed funding round with investments from FJ Labs, LocalGlobe, David Helgason, Felix Capital, Joe Lonsdale and 2 others
• Try Your Best*, a tool enabling fans to turn their product recommendations into rewards from the brands they love, has raised $11mln in a Series A funding round with investments from Coinbase Ventures, Castle Island Ventures, Strobe Ventures, Offline Ventures and Unusual Ventures
• OneBalance*, a framework for creating and managing enhanced versions of externally owned accounts and smart accounts, has raised $20mln in a Series A funding round with investments from Mirana Ventures, Blockchain Capital, cyber.Fund and L2IV

*Underlying TBV portfolio position | Prices as per 13/06

Interesting things to read

• A long read on “AI x crypto crossovers” by a16z

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