In this episode, Jacob Robinson and Jonathan Schmalfeld break down the biggest U.S. crypto law and policy developments of the month, from the SEC’s moves toward bringing public markets on-chain to major CFTC moves on derivatives, prediction markets, and collateral. The conversation also covers crypto tax proposals, DeFi governance disputes, banking access, privacy, quantum risk, and why regulators increasingly view crypto not as an exception, but as core financial infrastructure.
Jonathan Schmalfeld is the Policy Director at The Digital Chamber and the author of the Off the Blockchain+ newsletter, where he analyzes crypto regulation, market structure, and emerging policy trends.
Timestamps:
➡️ 1:03 — SEC market structure reforms and DTC no-action relief
➡️ 7:54 — CFTC allows crypto and tokenized treasuries as collateral
➡️ 8:45 — Prediction markets and state gambling laws
➡️ 13:23 — Crypto tax proposals: wash sales, staking, and airdrops
➡️ 16:03 — Aave, DAO governance, and token vs. equity conflicts
➡️ 21:48 — GENIUS Act implementation and stablecoin interest debates
➡️ 27:33 — The end of Operation Choke Point 2.0 and legislative fixes
➡️ 31:02 — DeFi liquidations, market manipulation, and public debate
➡️ 34:20 — Quantum computing risk and Bitcoin’s long-term resilience
➡️ 38:46 — Michael Selig confirmed as CFTC Chair
Sponsor: This episode is brought to you by the Decentralization Research Center (DRC), a nonprofit think tank advocating for decentralization in emerging technologies. Learn more at thedrcenter.org.
Resources:
📄 SEC’s No Action Letter to the DTC
✉️ CFTC Digital Assets Pilot Program Announcement
In this episode, Jacob Robinson speaks with Odun Olowookere about Canada’s proposed Stablecoin Act, the constitutional and regulatory challenges it raises, and why critics argue it may reduce clarity rather than enhance it.
Odun Olowookere is a legal scholar at York University and the co-author of a submission to Canada’s House of Commons critiquing the draft Stablecoin Act, alongside Darrell Duffie of Stanford University and Andreas Veneris of the University of Toronto.
Timestamps:
➡️ 0:05 — Why Canada’s draft Stablecoin Act has drawn concern
➡️ 2:13 — The Act’s stated goal: monetary sovereignty and dollarization risk
➡️ 3:16 — Why stablecoins are not explicitly defined as payment instruments
➡️ 5:20 — How Canada’s constitutional structure complicates stablecoin regulation
➡️ 8:41 — Canada’s blanket prohibition on interest and how it differs from GENIUS
➡️ 9:46 — Expanded “payment function” language and why it alarms critics
➡️ 10:33 — How wallets, validators, and even users could be swept into regulation
➡️ 16:14 — Data security obligations and the Bank of Canada’s technical capacity
➡️ 18:33 — Prudential regulation concerns and undefined reserve requirements
➡️ 21:48 — Is Canada regulating stablecoins too early?
Sponsor: This episode is brought to you by the Decentralization Research Center (DRC), a nonprofit think tank advocating for decentralization in emerging technologies. Learn more at thedrcenter.org.
Resources:
DeFi has always promised trust without intermediaries, but as the ecosystem matures, that promise is being stress-tested by hacks, institutional risk limits, and regulatory pressure.
To unpack whether DeFi can scale without sacrificing neutrality or permissionlessness, Katherine Kirkpatrick Bos, General Counsel of StarkWare, and Jessi Brooks, General Counsel & Chief Compliance Officer at Ribbit Capital, joined the podcast to discuss their paper “Trust Without Intermediaries: A Programmable Risk Management Framework for the Future.”
The paper sparked controversy across the DeFi community, with critics arguing it could open the door to protocol-level compliance or re-intermediation. In this episode, Katherine and Jessi explain that the paper proposes something different.
Timestamps:
➡️ 01:31 — Why write this paper?
➡️ 07:55 — Institutional DeFi and why one-size-fits-all doesn’t work
➡️ 09:43 — Compliance as a commercial choice, not a mandate
➡️ 11:38 — Risk scoring in DeFi
➡️ 15:37 — Technical de-risking
➡️ 18:23 — Optional evolution
➡️ 20:59 — Not protocol-level compliance
➡️ 25:49 — Opt-in DeFi
➡️ 30:44 — Lessons from the backlash and public debate
& much more.
Sponsor: : This episode is brought to you by Day One Law, a boutique law firm helping crypto startups navigate complex legal challenges. Subscribe to Day One’s free monthly newsletter for legal and regulatory updates.
Resources:
📄 Trust Without Intermediaries: A Programmable Risk Management Framework for the Future
In this episode, Jonathan Schmalfeld and Jacob Robinson walk through the biggest crypto law and policy developments of the month of November.
Jonathan is the Policy Director at The Digital Chamber, where he leads federal and state advocacy on digital asset regulation.
Timestamps:
➡️ 1:19 — Senate Agriculture Committee releases market structure draft
➡️ 3:22 — Why DeFi and AML sections remain blank
➡️ 3:52 — Chair Atkins’ speech and push for taxonomy
➡️ 6:32 — Treasury & IRS guidance on staking ETFs
➡️ 10:39 — Uniswap’s fee switch vote and winding down
➡️ 13:53 — Coinbase reincorporates from Delaware to Texas
➡️ 16:19 — MEV exploit trial ends in mistrial
➡️ 23:36 — Samurai Wallet sentencing and liability risks
➡️ 26:55 — DOJ’s Tornado Cash filing and self-custody issues
➡️ 30:29 — Digital Chamber launches State Network
➡️ 33:37 — OCC guidance allowing banks pay gas fees
➡️ 36:50 — What to watch next in GENIUS implementation
Sponsor: Day One Law, a boutique corporate law firm founded by Nick Pullman. Nick and his team at Day One provide strategic legal counsel to startups, crypto projects, and Web3 innovators. You can get in contact with them via this link: https://www.dayonelaw.xyz/#contact
Greg Xethalis, General Counsel at Multicoin Capital joins the podcast to discuss the history of ETFs, what we can learn from the first Bitcoin ETF, and the interplay between the CLARITY Act and RFIA.
This episode also covers the challenges of disclosure in decentralized systems, and why principles-based regulation is essential for the next phase of crypto innovation.
Timestamps
➡️ 1:27 — The origin story of ETFs
➡️ 3:00 — SEC dynamics behind the first ETF
➡️ 7:45 — The first Bitcoin ETF
➡️ 15:34 — Market structure: CLARITY Act + RFIA as complementary frameworks
➡️ 20:52 — Disclosure: a challenge in crypto regulation
➡️ 33:34 — Who should be responsible for token disclosures long-term?
Sponsor: This episode is brought to you by the Decentralization Research Center (DRC), a nonprofit think tank advocating for decentralization in emerging technologies. Learn more at thedrcenter.org.
Resources:
📘 Project Crypto Speech — Chair Paul Atkins
📄 FinCEN 2013 Virtual Currency Guidance
📓 CLARITY Act – functional maturity framework
📕 Responsible Financial Innovation Act (RFIA) – ancillary asset test
After the GENIUS Act was enacted, the U.S. Treasury issued an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to gather public and industry input before drafting implementing regulations.
Some of the most influential submissions came from major banking and traditional finance associations, outlining how they believe U.S. stablecoin regulation should look.
J.W. Verret, Associate Professor of Law at the Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University, submitted a detailed rebuttal pushing back on the banks’ expansive interpretation of statutory authority and their call to ban “indirect yield.”
We talk about that in this episode.
Timestamps:
➡️ 1:02 — Why this rulemaking matters
➡️ 2:55 — Why JW felt compelled to respond
➡️ 4:48 — How agencies use comments
➡️ 5:17 — What counts as ‘interest’ or ‘yield’?
➡️ 7:00 — The push to regulate affiliates and third-party providers
➡️ 10:34 — Why a prohibition on ‘indirect yield’ matters
➡️ 14:55 — Zcash, privacy tech, and Roman Storm
➡️ 18:00 — What happens next in GENIUS rulemaking
➡️ 19:11 — Do stablecoins drain bank deposits?
Sponsor: Day One Law, a boutique corporate law firm founded by Nick Pullman. Nick and his team at Day One provide strategic legal counsel to startups, crypto projects, and Web3 innovators. You can get in contact with them via this link: https://www.dayonelaw.xyz/#contact
Resources:
Staking is now officially on the table for U.S. crypto ETFs.
In this episode, I’m joined by Jason Schwartz (@CryptoTaxGuyETH), a tax partner at CahillNXT, Cahill’s digital assets and emerging technology practice. Jason specializes in tax issues relating to digital assets, financial products, securitizations, lending, treaties, and fund structures.
We break down Treasury and the IRS’s new safe harbor that allows crypto ETPs to stake without being treated as domestic corporations, and the questions that follow.
Timestamps
➡️ 00:00 — Intro
➡️ 00:41 — Sponsor: Day One Law
➡️ 01:04 — What does the new Treasury/IRS safe harbor actually allow?
➡️ 03:30 — Why staking created a legal grey area for ETFs
➡️ 06:18 — Why “grantor trust” classification matters so much
➡️ 09:55 — The key safe harbor requirements
➡️ 14:40 — Who this matters for: investors, issuers, and markets
➡️ 19:22 — Could LST-based ETFs outperform Safe Harbor ETFs?
➡️ 23:10 — Four big open questions: uncertainties the IRS didn’t settle
➡️ 28:12 — What comes next for staking ETFs, Treasury, and IRS guidance
& much more.
Sponsor: Day One Law, a boutique corporate law firm founded by Nick Pullman. Nick and his team at Day One provide strategic legal counsel to startups, crypto projects, and Web3 innovators. You can get in contact with them via this link: https://www.dayonelaw.xyz/#contact
Resources:
📄 Cahill Client Alert: IRS and Treasury Issue Safe Harbor for Staking by Crypto ETPs
🎧 Previous episode with Jason Schwartz (#151)
💼 Jason on X: @CryptoTaxGuyETH
In this episode, Jason Gottlieb, Chair of Morrison Cohen’s Digital Assets Department and White Collar & Regulatory Enforcement Practice Group, breaks down the litigation trends shaping crypto today.
Timestamps:
➡️ 0:44 — Why litigation is shifting from regulators to private disputes
➡️ 3:37 — Statute of limitations: the five-year vs. ten-year reality
➡️ 8:14 — Inside the revamped Morrison Cohen Crypto Litigation Tracker
➡️ 12:41 — How judges are learning (and misunderstanding) crypto
➡️ 18:03 — The importance of amicus briefs in crypto cases
➡️ 20:52 — Stablecoin-freezing disputes and why issuers keep getting dragged in
➡️ 26:41 — Jurisdiction battles: extraterritoriality, comity & serving by NFT
Sponsor: Day One Law, a boutique corporate law firm founded by Nick Pullman. Nick and his team at Day One provide strategic legal counsel to startups, crypto projects, and Web3 innovators. You can get in contact with them via this link: https://www.dayonelaw.xyz/#contact
Resources: Morrison Cohen Crypto Litigation Tracker: cryptotracker.morrisoncohen.com
Disclaimer: Jacob Robinson and his guests are not your lawyer. Nothing herein or mentioned on the Law of Code podcast should be construed as legal advice. The material published is intended for informational, educational, and entertainment purposes only. Please seek the advice of counsel, and do not apply any of the generalized material to your individual facts or circumstances without speaking to an attorney.
In this episode, Jacob is joined by DoubleZero’s General Counsel, Mari Tomunen, and Cooley’s Connor Tweardy to unpack the U.S. SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance’s landmark no-action letter to DoubleZero, a decentralized physical infrastructure (DePIN) project that became the first crypto initiative in over five years to secure such relief.
Timestamps:
➡️ 01:20 – Why DoubleZero engaged with the SEC
➡️ 03:00 – Communicating DePIN to regulators
➡️ 04:40 – Making decentralization “lawyer-friendly”
➡️ 07:00 – Why the token's status was crucial
➡️ 08:20 – Compliance by design
➡️ 10:00 – The DoubleZero Foundation’s role
➡️ 11:45 – How the SEC evaluated “managerial efforts”
➡️ 13:20 – How an international footprint shaped dialogue with regulators
➡️ 15:30 – Lessons for other projects
➡️ 18:00 – The SEC’s “efforts balancing” test
➡️ 22:00 – Why discretionary control and passive income models raise red flags
➡️ 26:00 – Designing compliance into your protocol
➡️ 30:00 – Advice for teams pursuing regulatory clarity
Sponsor: Day One Law. This episode is brought to you by Day One Law, a boutique law firm helping crypto startups navigate complex legal challenges. Subscribe to Day One’s free monthly newsletter for legal and regulatory updates.
Resources:
No-Action Letter: https://www.sec.gov/files/corpfin/no-action/doublezero-final-conformed-092625.pdf
Cooley LLP's blog post: https://www.cooley.com/news/coverage/2025/2025-09-29-doublezero-secures-no-action-relief-from-sec
Disclaimer:
The information in this podcast is provided for educational and informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice. Listening to this episode or contacting the guests does not create an attorney-client relationship. For advice regarding your specific situation, please consult your own legal counsel.
Joris Delanoue, Co-CEO of Fairmint, joins the podcast to discuss how his SEC-registered transfer agent has already issued and managed over $1B of equity on-chain. We explore the legal distinctions between mirrored tokens and natively on-chain securities and how compliance can be built directly into smart contracts.
Timestamps:
➡️ 00:00 — Intro
➡️ 00:46 — Sponsor: Day One Law
➡️ 01:09 — Why bring equity on-chain?
➡️ 04:28 — Turning cap tables into smart contracts
➡️ 09:39 — Registering as an SEC transfer agent
➡️ 12:28 — How blockchain changes the “source of truth”
➡️ 16:09 — Fixing accredited investor rules
➡️ 22:26 — Compliance by automation vs. intermediation
➡️ 26:38 — Lessons from the Paperwork Crisis
➡️ 28:40 — Addressing human error
➡️ 30:20 — Protecting ownership in a tokenized world
➡️ 32:02 — What’s next for Fairmint
& more.
Sponsor: This episode is brought to you by Day One Law — a boutique law firm helping crypto startups navigate complex legal challenges.
Resources:
Follow Joris on X: @Joris_DLN
Stablecoins are no longer a side story — they’re on the path to becoming the backbone of global digital finance.
To unpack what the GENIUS Act means for the U.S. dollar, stablecoin issuers, and banking competition, I sat down with Austin Campbell, Founder and Managing Partner of Zero Knowledge Consulting and an Adjunct Professor at Columbia Business School.
Austin previously led Stable Value Trading at JP Morgan, co-headed Digital Asset Rates Trading at Citi, and served as Head of Portfolio Management at Paxos.
In this episode, Austin explains the key provisions of the Genius Act, the misconceptions around the “interest” prohibition, and how competition between currencies could expand freedom — and reshape the global economy.
Timestamps:
➡️ 00:00 — Intro
➡️ 00:46 — Sponsor: Day One Law
➡️ 01:09 — Austin’s path from Wall Street to crypto
➡️ 05:40 — Why the Genius Act is the most important bipartisan financial law since Dodd-Frank
➡️ 10:31 — Stablecoins as global infrastructure for the U.S. dollar
➡️ 15:14 — Key pillars of the Genius Act: reserves, insolvency, and compliance
➡️ 26:20 — Privacy, enforcement, and what Genius gets right
➡️ 37:19 — The “interest” prohibition — and the exception most people missed
➡️ 45:00 — What comes next for stablecoin issuers and U.S. regulators
& much more.
Sponsor: This episode is brought to you by Day One Law, a boutique law firm helping crypto startups navigate complex legal challenges. Subscribe to Day One’s free monthly newsletter for legal and regulatory updates.
Resources:
📄 Crypto and the Evolution of Capital Markets paper.
🎧 Law of Code episode #145 with Tuongvy Le (@TuongvyLe12).
📰 Austin's Zero In Newsletter
Disclaimer: Nothing in this podcast is legal advice. The views expressed are those of the host and guest and do not necessarily reflect those of their organizations. Always consult your own counsel before making legal decisions.
DUNA — the Decentralized Unincorporated Nonprofit Association — is one of the most important new legal structures for crypto governance.
To understand its history, tax implications, and jurisdictional trade-offs, I sat down with David Kerr, founder of Cowrie, a crypto-native advisory firm specializing in U.S. tax compliance and entity structuring.
David was instrumental in drafting the Wyoming DUNA Act, and in this episode we discuss the evolution of UNAs, why Wyoming stepped up, the tax and compliance realities facing projects, and what this means for the future of DAOs in the U.S.
Timestamps:
➡️ 00:00 — Intro
➡️ 00:46 — Sponsor: Day One Law
➡️ 01:09 — Origins of the DUNA: why unincorporated associations matter
➡️ 03:32 — Early U.S. entity law, UNAs, and Wyoming’s first adoption in 1993
➡️ 07:53 — Why some states resisted hybrid entity forms
➡️ 12:30 — Nonprofit ≠ tax exempt: clearing up misconceptions
➡️ 16:15 — How DAOs and protocol treasuries fit with the DUNA model
➡️ 20:45 — Legislative drafting in Wyoming and lessons from Texas
➡️ 27:07 — Secretary of State & local support
➡️ 29:16 — When does a U.S. DUNA make sense for international projects?
➡️ 31:54 — Tax trade-offs: advantages, disadvantages, and compliance
➡️ 38:54 — Treasury management, W-8/W-9s, and reporting obligations
➡️ 41:56 — The DUNA as “where governance goes”
➡️ 47:39 — Building Cowrie: tax, filings, advisory, and administrator services
➡️ 49:11 — Crypto’s “LLC moment”
& more.
Sponsor: This episode is brought to you by Day One Law — a boutique law firm helping crypto startups navigate complex legal challenges. Subscribe to Day One's free monthly newsletter for legal updates.
Resources:
DOJ Criminal Division Chief Matthew Galeotti recently stated: “Merely writing code, without ill intent, is not a crime.” He emphasized that developers of neutral tools should not be held liable for someone else’s misuse.
Joining me to unpack what this means for developers is Amanda Tuminelli, Executive Director of the DeFi Education Fund. We discuss the DOJ’s remarks, DEF’s role in shaping the conversation, and what comes next for developer protections, market structure legislation, and global DeFi policy.
Timestamps:
➡️ 00:00 — Intro
➡️ 00:46 — Sponsor: Day One Law
➡️ 01:09 — DOJ’s statement: “writing code is not a crime”
➡️ 03:17 — How the Tornado Cash trial might have been different
➡️ 05:15 — DEF’s advocacy on Section 1960
➡️ 07:05 — Remaining gray areas: sanctions, facilitation & intent
➡️ 10:30 — How developers can show good faith reliance
➡️ 12:25 — Where developer protections may land in market structure bills
➡️ 14:30 — DEF’s next priorities: Roman Storm, market structure, SEC engagement
➡️ 17:11 — Defining “facilitate” and why rulemaking could help
➡️ 19:08 — Global impact of U.S. leadership on DeFi
➡️ 20:57 — Stablecoins, GENIUS Act, and regulatory momentum
➡️ 21:41 — Final thoughts on clarity and innovation
& more.
Sponsor: This episode is brought to you by Day One Law — a boutique law firm helping crypto startups navigate complex legal challenges. Subscribe to Day One's free monthly newsletter for legal updates.
Resources:
📄 DOJ remarks by Matthew Galeotti in Jackson, WY
📜 DEF coalition letter on developer protections
📬 Contact: info@defieducationfund.org
Disclaimer: Nothing in this podcast is legal advice. The views expressed are those of the host and guest and do not necessarily reflect those of their organizations. Always consult your own counsel before making legal decisions.
Sponsor: This episode of the Law of Code podcast is brought to you by Day One Law, a boutique corporate law firm for founders and funds in crypto. Learn more at dayonelaw.com.
The regulatory winds in Washington have shifted dramatically, and Anchorage Digital has been in the middle of it all. Kevin Wysocki, Head of Policy at Anchorage Digital, joins the podcast to discuss:
01:07 – White House crypto report & GENIUS signing
02:20 – Anchorage as the first federally chartered digital asset bank
03:20 – Stablecoins, de-banking
05:08 – Institutional demand post-GENIUS
07:03 – Partnering to on-shore stablecoin issuance
10:36 – Market structure legislation: custody, vertical integration & yield
14:06 – Timeline for Senate and House bills
15:58 – Bipartisan engagement on Capitol Hill
18:33 – Policy sticking points & compromises ahead
20:18 – Market maturity tests & Anchorage’s stance
21:48 – Cross-border custody & protecting self-custody
23:25 – Taxes, tokenization & national security on the horizon
26:22 – Bankruptcy remoteness & why custody matters
Kevin is a Capitol Hill veteran, having worked for the House Financial Services Committee, Rep. Andy Barr, and Rep. Tom Emmer, before moving into government affairs at Meta and now leading policy efforts for the first federally chartered digital asset bank.
Disclaimer: The information provided in this podcast is for educational purposes only and should not be construed as legal or investment advice.
This episode is brought to you by Day One Law, a boutique corporate law firm helping crypto startups navigate complex legal challenges. Visit dayonelaw.xyz to get in touch, or subscribe to their free newsletter for crypto legal updates.
Show notes:
In early August, the Uniswap Foundation proposed that Uniswap Governance adopt a Wyoming-registered DUNA (Decentralized Unincorporated Nonprofit Association). A first-of-its-kind structure for DAOs, the DUNA could be crypto’s LLC moment.
Joining me to discuss this development is Brian Nistler, General Counsel of the Uniswap Foundation, and Rodrigo Seira, Special Counsel at Cooley. We discuss what a DUNA is, why Uniswap proposed it, and what it means for governance participants and token holders.
Timestamps:
01:07 – What a DUNA is and why DAOs need it
02:16 – Wyoming's innovation
07:14 – Membership without KYC
09:22 – Uniswap Governance, not Uniswap Foundation
11:25 – Why DUNA is the right fit
13:57 – Liability for token holders?
17:17 – Preserving Uniswap's decentralization
21:13 – Administrators and ministerial agents
24:30 – Will courts respect the liability shield?
25:59 – Tax obligations and tradeoffs
29:37 – Lessons for other DAOs
34:04 – How DUNA fits into Uniswap Unleashed
35:15 – Where the DUNI proposal stands
36:19 – Should non-U.S. projects consider DUNAs?
37:43 – Resources to learn more
Disclaimer:
Nothing in this podcast is legal advice. Please consult a lawyer for advice specific to your situation.
Resources:
The Roman Storm trial ended with one guilty verdict, raising big questions about what comes next for developers and open-source protocols. To unpack the implications, I’m joined by Peter Van Valkenburgh, Executive Director of Coin Center.
Timestamps:
➡️ 00:00 – Introduction
➡️ 01:00 – Explaining the Roman Storm verdict
➡️ 03:00 – FinCEN's 2019 guidance
➡️ 07:40 – Implications for future regulatory guidance
➡️ 14:20 – First Amendment and due process defenses
➡️ 21:30 – Future of peer-to-peer crypto
➡️ 27:40 – Coin Center’s six-month policy review
➡️ 35:30 – The President’s Working Group Report
➡️ 38:50 – Why crypto must be more than an investment
Sponsor: This episode is brought to you by Day One Law, a boutique corporate law firm helping crypto startups navigate complex legal challenges. Visit dayonelaw.xyz to get in touch, or subscribe to their free newsletter for crypto legal updates.
Disclaimer: This podcast is for educational purposes only and is not legal or financial advice.
Crypto tax expert Jason Schwartz joins the podcast to break down what founders get wrong about taxes — and what’s changing in 2025.
Jason is a partner at Cahill NXT, where he specializes in the tax treatment of digital assets, financial products, and decentralized protocols. In this episode, he shares insights on how projects are approaching structuring, the rise of 501(c)(4) entities, common tax pitfalls with Cayman foundations, and how the IRS might soon leverage AI to change enforcement.
Timestamps:
➡️ 00:00 — Intro
➡️ 01:18 — Sponsor: The Hedera Council
➡️ 01:23 — Crypto tax trends
➡️ 04:23 — Can offshore projects return onshore?
➡️ 05:12 — Common tax mistakes & how they could backfire
➡️ 11:31 — What happens if the IRS comes knocking
➡️ 13:55 — Major crypto tax developments under the new administration
➡️ 18:56 — Status of Lummis’ tax proposal and what might come next
➡️ 24:50 — Staking: why current proposals may not solve the problem
➡️ 31:11 — Airdrops: what upcoming legislation could get wrong
➡️ 36:30 — How the IRS might use AI and what that means for crypto traders
➡️ 42:24 — Why a mark-to-market election could provide needed clarity
➡️ 44:39 — Lending, wrapping, and other grey areas: what’s “reasonable”?
& more.
Sponsor: This episode is brought to you by the Hedera Council, the decentralized governing body for the Hedera network. They are currently hiring a Legal Counsel, and interested candidates can apply at https://hedera.com/future?gh_jid=4574329006. Be sure to tell them you heard of the position on the Law of Code podcast!
📬 Jason on Twitter: @CryptoTaxGuyETH
Disclaimer: Jacob Robinson and his guests are not your lawyer. Nothing herein or mentioned on the Law of Code podcast should be construed as legal advice. The material published is intended for informational, educational, and entertainment purposes only. Please seek the advice of counsel, and do not apply any of the generalized material to your individual facts or circumstances without speaking to an attorney.
SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce and Crypto Task Force Chief Counsel Mike Selig return to the podcast to share updates from the SEC’s Crypto Task Force — plus their thoughts on tokenized securities, market structure legislation, exemptive relief, and the role of decentralization in regulatory design.
Timestamps:
➡️ 00:00 — Intro
➡️ 00:46 — Sponsor: Day One Law
➡️ 01:09 — Tokenizing securities: what facts and circumstances matter
➡️ 02:51 — What exemptive relief could look like
➡️ 04:51 — Timeline for SEC action on tokenization
➡️ 05:14 — Key regulatory risks in tokenized markets
➡️ 07:44 — Could ZKPs enable on-chain compliance?
➡️ 09:55 — Will smart contract auditors exist at the SEC?
➡️ 10:38 — How decentralization fits into new frameworks
➡️ 15:27 — Best practices for speaking with the SEC
➡️ 17:38 — Pathways for offshore projects to re-engage in the U.S.
➡️ 18:45 — Passport regime vs. U.S.-specific compliance
➡️ 20:45 — What Crypto Task Force meetings actually look like
➡️ 22:09 — How the SEC views DePIN models and incentives
➡️ 23:40 — Could yield-bearing stablecoins become regulated products?
➡️ 24:54 — SEC–CFTC joint rulemaking: what’s next
& more.
Sponsor: This episode is brought to you by Day One Law — a boutique law firm helping crypto startups navigate complex legal challenges.
Resources:
📄 SEC Crypto Task Force information page
📬 Contact: crypto@sec.gov
📜 “Enchanting, but Not Magical: A Statement on the Tokenization of Securities” — Commissioner Peirce’s statement on tokenized securities.
Derivatives expert Katherine Kirkpatrick Bos, General Counsel of StarkWare, joins the podcast to discuss the first-ever CFTC-regulated "perpetual-style" futures contracts to occur onshore — a move that may pull trading volume back from offshore exchanges and reshape global market dynamics.
Prior to joining StarkWare, Katherine was Chief Legal Officer of Cboe Digital, a U.S. regulated exchange and clearinghouse for crypto spot and crypto derivatives markets.
Timestamps:
➡️ 00:00 — Intro
➡️ 00:53 — Sponsor: Day One Law
➡️ 01:27 — What are 'perps'?
➡️ 04:29 — Why have perps been offshore?
➡️ 07:48 — How are these new contracts CFTC-regulated?
➡️ 12:24 — Comparing regulated perps to offshore offerings
➡️ 15:56 — Benefits and protections for U.S. traders using onshore perps
➡️ 20:06 — Could this repatriate crypto volume to U.S.-regulated venues?
➡️ 24:48 — The future of crypto derivatives regulation: urgent areas needing clarity
& much more.
Sponsor: This episode is brought to you by Day One Law — a boutique law firm helping crypto startups navigate complex legal challenges. Visit https://www.dayonelaw.xyz/ to get in touch.
Disclaimer: Jacob Robinson and his guests are not your lawyer. Nothing herein or mentioned on the Law of Code podcast should be construed as legal advice. The material published is intended for informational, educational, and entertainment purposes only. Please seek the advice of counsel, and do not apply any of the generalized material to your individual facts or circumstances without speaking to an attorney.
Stablecoins have grown from a total value of ~$2 billion in 2019 to over $230 billion by early 2025, enabling $33 trillion in transactions across 236 million wallets.
But beneath this growth lies a deep — and fragile — dependence on the U.S. Treasury market.
Professor Yesha Yadav of Vanderbilt Law School and Brendan Malone, formerly of Paradigm, the Federal Reserve Board, and MIT, discuss their paper on the critical but underexamined relationship between U.S. dollar stablecoins and Treasuries.
They unpack why Treasuries act as the “anchor” for stablecoins, explore operational and liquidity risks, and outline what policy changes might be necessary to avert a crisis.
Timestamps:
➡️ 00:00 — Intro
➡️ 01:10 — Sponsor: Hedera Council is hiring a legal counsel
➡️ 02:40 — Why is the U.S. Treasury market so critical to stablecoins?
➡️ 04:32 — Treasuries as “cash equivalents” and risk-free assets
➡️ 07:33 — What does it mean to “hold” Treasuries?
➡️ 11:38 — Liquidity and operational risks
➡️ 14:34 — Changing structure of Treasury markets
➡️ 16:12 — 24/7 crypto vs. limited-hour Treasury markets
➡️ 20:06 — Systemic risk scenarios
➡️ 28:27 — The urgent need for preemptive policy solutions
➡️ 33:22 — Regulatory fragmentation: “everyone’s responsible, so no one is”
➡️ 38:51 — Possible reforms: more short-term issuance, repo market, reserves access
➡️ 40:53 — Treasuries as “risk-free” assets — myth vs. reality
➡️ 46:23 — Potential Fed facilities and why they aren’t in place yet
➡️ 51:06 — Bonus: Hedera Council’s General Counsel Gregory Schneider on their open position.
Sponsor: Hedera Council is hiring a legal counsel. Click here for more information about the role, or follow this link: https://hedera.com/future?gh_jid=4574329006.
Jacob Robinson and his guests are not your lawyer. Nothing herein or mentioned on the Law of Code podcast should be construed as legal advice. The material published is intended for informational, educational, and entertainment purposes only. Please seek the advice of counsel, and do not apply any of the generalized material to your individual facts or circumstances without speaking to an attorney.