a16z and DeFi Education Fund Advocate for SEC Safe Harbor on dApp Regulation

Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) and the DeFi Education Fund have formally requested the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to establish a regulatory SAFE harbor for decentralized application trading platforms. The proposal aims to shield non-custodial interface developers from being classified as broker-dealers under current securities laws.

The Aug. 12 letter to SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce argues that clear guidelines WOULD enable builders to operate without fear of misapplied regulations. "A safe harbor would provide much-needed regulatory clarity," the groups stated, emphasizing the need for frameworks tailored to modern software infrastructure.

The initiative specifically targets applications serving as technical infrastructure for blockchain transactions. Qualifying platforms would need to operate on permissionless, non-custodial networks where users maintain full control over asset movement and trade execution.