The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is expected to declare on Friday that rules governing trading exchanges in the U.S. also apply to decentralized finance. This action would formalize the SEC's assertion of jurisdiction over activities labeled 'decentralized' that the agency sees as still falling under traditional definitions of securities trading. It may also signal increased scrutiny by the regulatory agency into that area of digital assets.

DeFi projects that bring together multiple buyers and sellers for the trading of assets, including non-firms and structured projects, could be considered securities exchanges by the SEC, and subject to civil charges if they fail to register as national securities exchanges or broker-dealers in the U.S. The move is meant to make clearer the SEC's view of DeFi and may imply that the agency is already investigating certain projects.