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Calling the repeal a "crucial step towards protecting U.S. innovation and ensuring that developers can continue to build cutting-edge technologies without the burden of unclear, overreaching regulations," Amanda Tuminelli, the fund's executive director, hailed the Senate's vote in a statement on Wednesday. "The DeFi Education Fund commends the bipartisan supermajority of Congressional leaders who voted in favor of the 'DeFi Broker' CRA resolution, recognizing the severe and far-reaching consequences of the IRS’ misguided rulemaking."

In a statement, DeFi Education Fund Executive Director and Chief Legal Officer Amanda Tuminelli said the group "commends the bipartisan supermajority of Congressional leaders who voted in favor of the “DeFi Broker” CRA resolution, recognizing the severe and far-reaching consequences of the IRS’ misguided rulemaking."

The letter — led by the DeFi Education Fund and signed by the likes of Kraken and Coinbase — added that the Justice Department’s interpretation “creates confusion and ambiguity” and “threatens the viability of U.S.-based software development in the digital asset industry.” The group said the DOJ debuted its position “in August 2023 via criminal indictment” — the same time it charged Tornado Cash developers Roman Storm and Roman Semenov with money laundering.

The DeFi Education Fund has published a letter from various industry advocates calling on Congress to correct what it calls “the DOJ’s dangerous misinterpretation of money transmission laws.”

The letter, led by the DeFi Education Fund—an advocacy group focused on decentralized finance—was also signed by major industry players, including exchanges Coinbase and Kraken, crypto venture capital firms A16z, Multicoin Capital, and Paradigm, as well as self-custody companies Exodus and Ledger. Crypto In America has obtained a copy of the letter and is the first to report on it. The missive criticizes the DOJ’s position that DeFi platforms can be classified as money transmitting businesses, potentially holding software developers criminally liable for indirectly enabling illicit financial activity. The signers seek clarity on the DOJ’s interpretation of Section 1960 of the U.S. criminal code (which criminalizes centralized entities operating an unlicensed money transmitting business), arguing it is too broad and could threaten developers who don’t handle customer funds. They also express concern that the DOJ's approach creates confusion as it contradicts 2019 guidance from FinCEN, which excludes developers from being considered money transmitters.

Stepping back: The DeFi Education Fund, which has been a strong supporter of removing the sanctions, said in a blog post that the decision “minds the technological nuances of decentralized software protocols and front-end websites” and also “reaffirms something that DEF has been advocating for: immutable decentralized software cannot and should not be designated under sanctions authorities.” The organization stressed, however, that “more hard work remains to be done to protect software developers’ rights to build.” It pointed out that the government is still arguing in court cases that Tornado Cash is an “entity” that can be sanctioned. And it also noted that even while the sanctions were in effect, the mixer continued to operate. “Given this reality, it’s important that Treasury recognize that DeFi protocols are merely software tools for anyone to use at their discretion, akin to any other public infrastructure.”

An analysis from crypto advocacy firm DeFi Education Fund noted that the Treasury department has implied it still considers Tornado Cash a sanctionable entity, as some aspects of the protocol as controlled by its developers. “Continuing to assert that a decentralized software protocol is an entity and that developers of said protocol are themselves liable for enabling illicit activity for writing its code and making it publicly available is a flawed conclusion,” DeFi Education Fund wrote in its analysis.

The ruling in the 2023 Risley v. Uniswap case, in which Uniswap and some of its investors were accused of facilitating the trades of “scam tokens” on its decentralized exchange, could also be helpful in Storm’s case. In its decision, the court said that Uniswap developers were not liable for how third parties used the software. “This is an important principle for developers of all software, including DeFi technology and infrastructure: software is a neutral tool, and it is very important for developers to have clarity on their legal liabilities,” explained Amanda Tuminelli, Executive Director and Chief Legal Officer of the DeFi Education Fund in an email to Unchained. “This same principle is at issue in the case against Roman Storm, and it will certainly be at issue for the jury at his trial next month.”

A shake-up at DeFi Education Fund — The DeFi Education Fund, an advocacy group focused on the decentralized finance ecosystem, has a new leader: Amanda Tuminelli, Declan Harty reports. Tuminelli, currently the DeFi Education Fund’s chief legal officer, is set to succeed Miller Whitehouse-Levine starting next week as the new executive director, the group said in a statement. Whitehouse-Levine is stepping down to pursue a new opportunity after more than three years leading the group. He will join the DeFi Education Fund’s board. Tuminelli came to the DeFi Education Fund in 2023 from the law firm Kobre & Kim. In addition to executive director, she will also remain the group’s chief legal officer.

One of the leading U.S. advocates for decentralized finance (DeFi), Miller Whitehouse-Levine, is departing his job as executive director of the DeFi Education Fund, where he'll be replaced by the group's chief legal officer, Amanda Tuminelli. Whitehouse-Levine, a fixture in U.S. crypto circles, will remain on the organization's board, according to a Thursday announcement, and a person familiar with his plans said he'll be taking a not-yet-announced role that keeps him in the industry lobbying space.

Leadership is shifting at the DeFi Education Fund in appointing its Chief Legal Officer Amanda Tuminelli to become the executive director as crypto priorities gain momentum in Washington. On Thursday, the DeFi-focused advocacy group said that Tuminelli will succeed CEO Miller Whitehouse-Levine, who is stepping down from the group to pursue another opportunity.

The DeFi Education Fund called the Senate development the "first of many historic milestones in the regulation of digital assets in the United States."

"Today marks the first of many historic milestones in the regulation of digital assets in the United States in this next chapter—as we move towards the enactment of the first standalone crypto legislation," a spokesperson for the DeFi Education Fund, another D.C.-based crypto lobbying group told Decrypt. "The DeFi Education Fund applauds the bipartisan supermajority of Senators who recognized the need to push back against regulatory overreach to protect Americans’ freedom to choose how they transact and American innovation."

“Today marks the first of many historic milestones in the regulation of digital assets in the United States in this next chapter — as we move towards the enactment of the first standalone crypto legislation,” a spokesperson for crypto lobbyist DeFi Education Fund told DL News in a statement. “The DeFi Education Fund applauds the bipartisan supermajority of Senators who recognised the need to push back against regulatory overreach to protect Americans' freedom to choose how they transact and American innovation.”

"In a bipartisan, super majority vote, the Senate voted to move forward to discuss and debate the CRA resolution," noted Jennifer Rosenthal, a spokesperson for the DeFi Education Fund. "This is a tremendous step forward, and now we move to the debate before the full Senate vote."

Amanda Tuminelli, the chief legal officer at DeFi Education Fund, a decentralized finance-focused lobbying group, said any groups in the crypto sector should be more confident they would not be sued "for a mere registration violation." "I don't think that we've won. I won't think that we have won until there are clear final rules on the books that make it clear, that are durable wins that make it clear that the industry is going to be able to innovate and exist for years in the future," she said in an interview.

“The DeFi Education Fund applauds the House Ways and Means Committee members who voted for moving the CRA to the House floor, recognizing the need to push back against unlawful and unconstitutional overreach by the Treasury and IRS and to protect Americans' freedom of choice in how they transact," said Miller Whitehouse-Levine, CEO of the DeFi Education fund in a statement. "Members of the full House and Senate will now get to vote on the CRA."

Amanda Tuminelli, chief legal officer at the DeFi Education Fund, said in a statement to CoinDesk that the SEC’s decision to drop the investigation into Uniswap Labs “gives DeFi companies additional comfort to pivot from defending to embracing our right to build decentralized tech.”

“This is undoubtedly the right outcome, and one that corrects the mistakes of previous SEC leadership,” Amanda Tuminelli, chief legal officer at crypto advocacy firm DeFi Education Fund, said in a statement shared with DL News. “It gives DeFi companies additional comfort to pivot from defending to embracing our right to build decentralised tech.”

Amanda Tuminelli, chief legal officer at the DeFi Education Fund, said the SEC's move to drop the investigation was noteworthy. "It’s notable that the SEC is formally and publicly closing their investigation into Uniswap Labs," Tuminelli said in an emailed statement. "It gives DeFi companies additional comfort to pivot from defending to embracing our right to build decentralized tech."

"In addition to being a welcome signal of progress, this is also clear confirmation that the previous SEC leadership failed to sufficiently uphold its mission to protect American consumers, innovations, and markets — particularly related to the crypto industry — and new leadership is working quickly to course-correct," DeFi Education Fund chief legal officer Amanda Tuminelli said in a statement.

Beyond the letter, other crypto organizations are also weighing in. A spokesperson from the DeFi Education Fund said it's "thrilled" to see momentum building against the "unworkable, unconstitutional" rule that the group is committed to ensuring doesn't get implemented.

Industry groups likewise supported the nomination after news of it spread. Miller Whitehouse-Levine, the CEO of the DeFi Education Fund, a lobbying group, said the organization looked forward to working with him. "Brian has a long track record of supporting DeFi and advocating for sound policies that will enable DeFi developers and users to thrive in the United States," he said in a statement.

“Brian has a long track record of supporting DeFi and advocating for sound policies that will enable DeFi developers and users to thrive in the United States,” said Miller Whitehouse-Levine, CEO of the DeFi Education Fund. “We look forward to working with the CFTC under his leadership to ensure America regains its position at the forefront of financial innovation.”

The US Department of Justice should stop holding decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols accountable for wrongdoing they didn’t instigate and can’t control, the DeFi Education Fund said in a Feb. 4 blog post on venture firm a16z’s website. “Holding people responsible for systems and activities over which they exercise no agency or control leads to perverse outcomes,” the post said.

Crypto advocacy group DeFi Education Fund has urged the US Department of Justice (DOJ) to reconsider its approach to holding DeFi protocol developers accountable for users’ actions.

“I am cautiously optimistic, given the rule-making is so out of line with what Congress was trying to do in the statute,” said Miller Whitehouse-Levine, chief executive officer of the DeFi Education Fund, an industry advocacy group. “This is an absolutely fundamental issue for the industry.”

Jennifer Rosenthal is leaving Grayscale Investments to join the DeFi Education Fund as its new chief communications officer, according to a statement. Rosenthal, who was the former head of communications at Grayscale, will be starting in her new role on Monday. She also previously held several management positions at the academic company Pearson.

Miller Whitehouse-Levine, chief of the advocacy group called the DeFi Education Fund, said, “Legislation around stablecoins and market structure, specifically, can happen quickly. On the stablecoin front, it’s just a Fed issue at this point... I don’t think that the Federal Reserve will be able to exercise a veto like they were able to do for the last four years.”

Some crypto lobbyists are hopeful that lawmakers will be able to push a bill over the finish line. Yet, until Congress does, investors remain in the lurch. Miller Whitehouse-Levine, who runs the DeFi Education Fund, said he is “disappointed” that a crypto framework has not already passed on Capitol Hill. “The lack of a clear regulatory framework in this space has only empowered bad actors at the expense of consumers and at the expense of good responsible businesses and developers in the U.S.,” Whitehouse-Levine said. “The reality is there have been massive failures that could have been prevented.”

“Today's ruling in SEC v. Coinbase marks a potentially pivotal moment in the law related to digital assets,” Amanda Tuminelli, chief legal officer at crypto lobbying group DeFi Education Fund, said in a statement shared with Decrypt. “For the first time, a federal circuit court will have the chance to address the controlling legal question of the extent of the SEC's statutory authority over digital assets,” she continued. “If the Second Circuit agrees to hear Coinbase's appeal, it will have the opportunity to provide legal clarity the industry has been asking for."

Meanwhile, passing stablecoin legislation could be considered more “low-hanging-fruit,” according to Miller Whitehouse-Levine, CEO of decentralized-finance research and advocacy group DeFi Education Fund. Representative Patrick McHenry introduced the “Clarity for Payment Stablecoins Act of 2023,” while Lummis and New York Democratic Senator Kirsten Gillibrand put out a joint “Lummis-Gillibrand Payment Stablecoin Act” last year. “There’s a broader consensus around what stablecoin legislation should look like,” said Whitehouse-Levine. “The McHenry bill that was marked-up in mid-2023 has been well-socialized and was negotiated with [Democratic Representative Maxine] Waters. I think that anything that passes will look largely similar to that bill.”

The complaint—filed by the Blockchain Association, the Texas Blockchain Council and the DeFi Education Fund—called the reporting rule a fundamental misunderstanding of how DeFi entities operate and at odds with the purpose of DeFi platforms. DeFi's main innovation is that users, not the platform, effectuate transactions with other users, the groups stated.

It’s clear that the plaintiffs in this case are deeply concerned about the future of innovation in the U.S. "We are incredibly disappointed in today’s decision by the Treasury and the IRS to finalize the misguided and unfairly sweeping DeFi portion of their ‘broker’ rulemaking," said Miller Whitehouse-Levine, CEO of the DeFi Education Fund. "Decentralized Finance promises to make financial services and the digital economy more accessible, efficient, interoperable, dependable, and consumer-focused. This promise is at the heart of our work at the DeFi Education Fund. This unfortunate rulemaking is a direct threat to financial innovation, and we intend to fight it using every tool available to us."

The SEC has called Coinbase’s request “extraordinary.” Miller Whitehouse-Levine, CEO of crypto advocacy group DeFi Education Fund, agrees. That’s because the court would order the SEC to create bespoke rules for crypto in the event Coinbase wins. “That is an extraordinary remedy that happens very rarely,” Whitehouse-Levine told DL News.

“There are many, many priorities on the Republican caucus’ agenda, and it’s less a question about whether crypto is going to be a priority in the next Congress, and more of how many other higher priorities will be taking up time, and how efficient can Congress be?” Whitehouse-Levine says there are other bills that are less sweeping in scope but no less important to the industry that have a greater chance of passing in 2025, such as Minnesota Representative Tom Emmer’s Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act.