The post Ethereum Governance Tokens Spike as SEC Backs ‘Innovation Exemption’ for DeFi Projects appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com.

In brief Several Ethereum DeFi governance tokens rose after SEC Chair Paul Atkins said the agency would establish an “innovation exemption” for entities engaged in the crypto subsector. A DeFi-focused roundtable on Monday inspired “optimism,” a spokesperson for a research and advocacy group said. Uniswap, Aave, and Sky saw “unusually heavy” trading volume, potentially lifting Ethereum’s price, according to one analyst. The price of several tokens tied to Ethereum-based projects in decentralized finance, or DeFi, spiked on Tuesday after the Securities and Exchange Commission signaled that it’s taking steps internally to become more accommodative of the emergent subsector. Ethereum was recently changing hands around $2,700, an 7.2% increase over the past day, according to crypto data provider CoinGecko. Uniswap, Aave, and Sky, were up 23%, 16%, and 15% respectively, rising to $8, $305, and $0.90. On Monday, SEC Chairman Paul Atkins said during a DeFi-focused roundtable in Washington, D.C., that the agency was working on an “innovation exemption” allowing companies to introduce on-chain products more easily. The agency is also looking at rule changes to “provide needed accommodation” for entities seeking “to administer on-chain financial systems,” he said. “The American values of economic liberty, private property rights, and innovation are in the DNA of the DeFi, or decentralized finance, movement,” Atkins added. As governance tokens, Uniswap, Aave, and Sky allow holders to participate in determining their associated project’s direction, namely through voting on proposed software changes. In the past, projects like Uniswap have mulled changes to share protocol fees with token holders.Although the Securities and Exchange Commission once argued that Uniswap’s governance should be classified as a security (in an enforcement threat last year), the agency’s current leadership is trying to forge a more collaborative path. “Many industry participants came away from the roundtable optimistic about what’s ahead,”Jennifer Rosenthal, a…

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Filed under: News - @ June 10, 2025 8:26 pm