Ten years ago this week, I went to dinner with a close friend who runs a technology-focused clothing startup.
We were at our favorite meetup — a little hole-in-the-wall Thai restaurant in downtown Manhattan.
Over plates of pad Thai and green curry chicken, I told him that I had a vision.
I told him that bitcoin (BTH) was going to be big, but I believed Ethereum (ETH) would someday have an even bigger impact.
“This will change everything,” I said. I then told him about all the things Ethereum could change with smart contracts, from finance to shipping to health care.
“This idea is much bigger than bitcoin.”
I remember this conversation clearly. Not because he agreed with me, but because he thought I had gone mad.
From that day on — going on 10 years now — I feel like I’ve had a part-time job as an Ethereum evangelist. (Unpaid, of course).
One of the biggest promises of Ethereum is decentralized finance (DeFi) because it allows anyone to perform the same services as a bank.
I have long believed this will allow investors to unlock more value from their holdings, in ways that banks do for themselves now.
And now, my Thai food dinner proclamation from 10 years ago is speeding unchecked into reality.
When Donald Trump won the 2024 election, I called him: “the first openly pro-crypto candidate to be elected President of the United States.”
I also predicted that his administration would “help bitcoin transition from a speculative asset to a legitimate form of global currency.”
This week, we got the clearest sign yet that it’s actually going to happen.
On Monday, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) held its latest Crypto Task Force Roundtable.
And during his opening remarks, SEC Chair Paul Atkins — a Trump appointee — laid out the most pro-DeFi vision we’ve ever heard from a top U.S. regulator.
If you had any doubt about where the administration stands, the roundtable was titled “DeFi and the American Spirit.”
Atkins leaned into this idea by reframing DeFi as a pillar of American innovation.
But this was just the start of his eye-opening speech. What followed was a clear statement that DeFi is well on its way to legitimacy…
Backed by the full support of the Trump administration.
Crypto’s Shining Moment
Until recently, the SEC’s approach to DeFi seemed to be guided by the belief that decentralized platforms were merely vehicles for fraud and speculation.
Atkins flipped that narrative by framing crypto not as a threat, but as a uniquely American opportunity.
Then he got specific about his vision for DeFi.
tkins explicitly stated that mining, validating and staking-as-a-service are not securities transactions.
He also defended self-custody — users controlling their own crypto assets — and open-source development.
Developers of DeFi software have spent years worrying that they could be treated like financial middlemen just for writing code. But Atkins’ comments suggest the U.S. won’t get in the way of these decentralized tools.
He also promoted the idea that the blockchain shouldn’t be hampered by the same rules governing 100-year-old technology.
Along those lines, he proposed specific actions the SEC is taking to legitimize crypto…
And he tied them directly to President Trump’s stated goal of making America the “crypto capital of the planet.”
Atkins said the SEC is working on “fit-for-purpose rules of the road” for on-chain markets. And to help accelerate that process, he’s pushing for something he called an “innovation exemption.”
In other words, he’s pushing for a way to fast-track the launch of compliant DeFi products in the U.S., under a clear set of rules.
For builders and for investors, the implications of Atkin’s speech are enormous.
For the first time, we have a top U.S. regulator saying that decentralized platforms should have a regulated path forward, and that the government’s job is to make it happen.
This is how crypto becomes a legitimate financial asset.
And it’s why we saw Ethereum jump more than 7% on the day to just under $2,750, with increased volume and activity across the board.
Source: coingecko
Because Ethereum is the backbone of DeFi. Nearly every major decentralized protocol runs on the Ethereum blockchain, with Solana second in the DeFi rankings.
So when Atkins signaled support for legitimizing DeFi, it indirectly strengthened ETH’s investment case.
And if Atkins’ proposals hold, I believe Ethereum-based platforms — some of which we hold in Strategic Fortunes as well as Next Wave Crypto Fortunes — stand to benefit the most from a more innovation-friendly regulatory climate.
And it’s worth remembering how this is drastically different than a year ago.
Under the Biden administration, the SEC was mostly focused on enforcement.
Projects operated in a gray zone, hoping for clarity while preparing for lawsuits. This environment stifled innovation and pushed talent overseas.
But on Monday, Atkins gave the future of crypto some much-needed clarity.
He acknowledged the distinction between centralized custodians and decentralized protocols.
He emphasized regulating conduct, not code.
And he offered a framework for compliance that doesn’t crush experimentation.
What more could a crypto-optimist ask for?
Here’s My Take
For the first time in crypto’s history, the SEC appears to be embracing the idea that decentralized systems can coexist with investor protection and market integrity.
Atkins’ speech is the clearest sign yet that the U.S. government is preparing to legitimize DeFi.
And for investors who’ve been waiting for Washington to finally “get it…”
It seems like that moment is here.
Of course, this doesn’t mean the road ahead will be smooth. Next comes legal clarity, and there will undoubtedly be bumps and possibly even wrong turns along the way.
But this is the closest thing we’ve ever had to a green light to confidently invest in crypto…
And I believe someone owes me another Thai dinner.
Regards,
Ian KingChief Strategist, Banyan Hill Publishing
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