Jerome Powell Speaks on the Need for DeFi Regulation, as Calls for Crypto Regulation Rise

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Azeez Mustapha

Updated: 13 October 2022

Chairman of the US Federal Reserve Jerome Powell discussed the regulation of the decentralized finance (DeFi) space at a panel discussion on digital finance hosted by the Banque of France on Tuesday.

Powell explained: “the monetary policy normalization that we’re seeing all over the world,” adding, “All it did was simply reveal what we’ve long pointed out as significant structural issues in the DeFi ecosystem and conflict of interest.” The US Fed boss argued:

“Within the DeFi ecosystem, there are these very significant structural issues around transparency — lack of transparency.”

Powell further noted: “The good news, I suppose, is that … from the financial stability standpoint, the interaction between the DeFi ecosystem and the traditional banking system and the traditional finance system is not that large at this point. So we were able to witness the DeFi winter. It didn’t have significant effects on the banking system and broader financial stability.”

Explaining that this was a “good thing,” the investment banker narrated: “I think it demonstrates the weaknesses and work that needs to be done around regulation carefully and thoughtfully, and gives us a little bit of time.”

However, Powell warned that the case he just described “will not persist indefinitely,” adding: “Ultimately, that’s not a stable equilibrium, and we need to be very careful about … how crypto activities are taken within the regulatory perimeter.”

Finally, the US Fed chief explained:

“In any case … there is a real need for more appropriate regulation so that, as DeFi expands and starts to touch more and more retail customers, appropriate regulation is in place.”

Like Powell, ECB and BIS Chiefs Call for DeFi Regulation

Christine Lagarde, the president of the European Central Bank (ECB), and Agustín Carstens, the general manager of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), both participated in the discussions. They agreed with Powell and stressed the need to regulate the DeFi ecosystem.

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