# DeFi Education Fund and Andreessen Horowitz Propose Exchange Safe Harbor

By Riza Dagoc

Canonical URL: https://www.tokenpost.com/news/regulation/36202
Published: 2026-10-21T01:18:03.000Z
Updated: 2026-10-21T01:18:03.000Z
Section: Regulation

> The Sept. 14 proposal covers decentralized trading protocols and apps that let users arrange transactions themselves.

DeFi Education Fund and Andreessen Horowitz proposed an SEC exchange-registration safe harbor on Sept. 14 for certain decentralized trading protocols and apps, seeking clearer rules for software used in securities transactions.

The proposal covers decentralized exchange protocols and websites or apps that connect users to them. It focuses on interfaces that enable users to arrange transactions themselves.

The proposed safe harbor would apply where a protocol or app does not function like a traditional exchange or create the risks that exchange rules address. Software that presents those risks would fall outside its scope.

The groups seek objective criteria for deciding when exchange registration applies to these protocols and apps. Their proposal assumes qualifying apps may be used for securities transactions but does not decide whether a particular crypto asset is a security.

The proposal draws a distinction between software that helps users arrange transactions and software that performs the role of an exchange. It aims to give qualifying developers clearer boundaries under federal securities law.

An April 13, 2026, SEC staff statement separately addresses broker-dealer registration for certain interfaces used to prepare transactions in crypto asset securities.