How Decentralized Is DeFi?

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">On this episode of “The Breakdown,” NLW addresses the recent wave of increased regulatory scrutiny, one that has prompted the crypto industry to prepare itself for the possibility of legislation. The discussion includes:</span></p> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">A distinction of regulatory categories</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">Exchanges altering leveraged trading rules</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">Uniswap’s token removal decision</span></li> </ul> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The increased regulatory scrutiny is a culmination of a number of factors, including the most recent bull run and institutional adoption. As policymakers discuss crypto more frequently it becomes helpful to separate such discussions into categories: implemented legislation, regulatory narrative battles and crypto self-regulation.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Leveraged bets, an inherently risky venture, only become riskier with the addition of crypto’s volatility. Last weekend, exchanges FTX and Binance announced a cap on leverage at 20 times. Was this voluntary action an attempt by the exchanges to get ahead of possible incoming legislation?</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Uniswap labs announced an upcoming removal of over 100 tokens from its interface, including tokenized stocks, mirror stocks, options and derivatives. This decision seems to hail from a SEC statement that tokenized versions of securities are still securities. The specifics of the decision aside, the community finds itself asking: Does Uniswap’s ability to make a decision of this nature violate the principles of decentralization?</span></p> <div data-pm-slice="1 1 []" data-en-clipboard="true">Enjoying this content?</div> <div> </div> <div>SUBSCRIBE to the Podcast</div> <div>Apple:  <a href= "https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id143