The US Congress holds its first hearing on DeFi, with lawmakers sharply divided in their opinions.

On September 10, the U.S. Congress held its first hearing on decentralized finance ($DeFi), with Republican and Democratic lawmakers showing clear differences on the issue. The hearing, hosted by the House Financial Services Committee, was titled "Decoding DeFi: Decrypting the Future of Decentralized Finance" and aimed to explore emerging topics such as tokenization and the use of blockchain in the financial sector. Democratic lawmaker Brad Sherman strongly criticized $DeFi, claiming that it is mainly used for crime, evading sanctions, and tax evasion. He bluntly stated, "The efforts here are to free billionaires from income tax." Peter Van Valkenburgh, research director at Coin Center, countered that regulatory agencies have failed to provide sufficient compliance guidance for the crypto industry. He emphasized, "The existence of tax evasion is not enough to prove the need for a financial system that is 100% monitored and controlled." Democratic representative Maxine Waters mentioned the hacking of Laura and Tiffany Trump's X accounts, which were used to promote fraudulent tokens related to the Trump family's $DeFi project, "World Liberty Financial." She questioned whether regulatory agencies such as the SEC and CFTC have the capability to address large-scale non-compliant behavior on $DeFi platforms and entities claiming to be decentralized to evade regulation. In contrast, Amanda Tuminelli, Chief Legal Officer of $DeFi Education Fund, emphasized the openness and inclusivity of DeFi: "Traditional finance relies on intermediary institutions that often act as financial gatekeepers. Large banks can deny access to the system for discriminatory reasons or without justification. But $DeFi is openly accessible, allowing anyone with an internet connection to access $DeFi protocols, which exemplifies financial inclusivity." The two-and-a-half-hour hearing highlighted the serious divisions among U.S. lawmakers on $DeFi technology issues and reflected the challenges faced by regulatory agencies. Crypto lawyer Jake Chervinsky commented on social media, "A few years ago, $DeFi had only ten projects, and no one thought it would achieve anything. Now it is being fully showcased in the halls of power in Washington."