SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce said investors do not need an exemption to use permissionless smart contracts for peer-to-peer trading, but she said that view does not create a legal category for "truly decentralized" DeFi. According to NS3.AI, an SEC order and an SEC staff statement impose separate limits on custody, access, fees, recommendations, routing and execution.

The article also said a CFTC staff position allows more promotion and compensation by qualifying passive-software providers, while still keeping restrictions on custody, order involvement, routing and execution.