Compound, Uniswap and Aave surge as SEC Chair Atkins says American values are foundational for DeFi

OG DeFi tokens Compound (COMP), Uniswap (UNI), and Aave (AAVE) surged on Tuesday after Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Paul Atkins shared his vision for decentralized finance (DeFi) regulation, where he highlighted similarities between the sector and American values.

Atkins shares vision for DeFi regulation at Crypto Task Force roundtable

At the Crypto Task Force's final crypto roundtable for the year on Monday, titled "DeFi and the American Spirit," SEC Chair Atkins shared that DeFi holds the same fundamental principles that guide economic liberty and private property rights in America.

He emphasized the importance of self-custody of crypto assets through digital wallets and smart contracts innovation, highlighting their importance when third-party agents impose high fees for transactions or restrict functions like staking.

"The right to have self-custody of one's private property is a foundational American value that should not disappear when one logs onto the internet," said Atkins.

Under former Chair Gary Gensler, self-custody and most DeFi platforms were viewed as brokerage services and attracted regulatory action. Crypto platforms, including Coinbase, Consensys, Tornado Cash, and Uniswap, faced regulatory charges or threats for allowing self-custody, operating as a privacy-focused platform, or functioning as an unregistered brokerage.

SEC Chair remarks at crypto roundtable. Source: US SEC X handle

SEC Chair Atkins claimed that those who build self-custody or privacy-focused software should not be subject to federal securities laws.

"I do not believe that we should allow century-old regulatory frameworks to stifle innovation in technologies that could upend and, most importantly, improve and advance our current, traditional intermediated model," he added.

Atkins also recognized the SEC's Division of Corporation Finance's guide, which clarified that crypto activities, including proof-of-work mining and staking, do not constitute securities transactions.

To secure the future operations of DeFi services, Atkins said he has asked the agency's staff to review whether amendments to the Commission's rules and regulations could create an environment that fosters the growth of DeFi-related software.

"I have directed the staff to consider a conditional exemptive relief framework or "innovation exemption" that would expeditiously allow registrants and non-registrants to bring on-chain products and services to market," he added.

DeFi tokens surge following Atkins' bullish remarks

Since Atkins’ remarks at the roundtable, the DeFi sector has surged over 11%, with OG tokens like Compound, Uniswap, and Aave leading the charge and registering double-digit gains.

• Compound has risen over 30% since Monday, tackling a key resistance level at $61 and its 200-day Simple Moving Average (SMA). A firm move above this resistance could see COMP stretch its bullish move toward the $73 key level. On the downside, COMP could find support at the confluence of the 50-day and 100-day SMAs.

COMP/USDT daily chart

• UNI crossed above the resistance at $7.73 and could be on track to test the 200-day SMA level. If UNI holds $7.73 as support, it could stretch its rally above the 200-day SMA to test the resistance near the $10 psychological level.

UNI/USDT daily chart

• After finding support near the 200-day SMA, Aave broke above a key resistance at $285, reclaimed the $300 psychological level, and registered its largest single-day gain since February 1 on Monday. The lending/borrowing token could extend its rally to $362 if it breaks above the upper boundary of a rising channel. On the downside, Aave could find support at the channel's lower boundary.

AAVE/USDT daily chart

The Relative Strength Index (RSI) and Stochastic Oscillator (Stoch) of all three tokens discussed above are in their overbought regions, signaling heightened bullish momentum. A sideways move of these indicators in their overbought regions could fuel the bullish momentum. However, it also increases the chances of a potential short-term correction.

Other top DeFi tokens have also been standout performers since Monday, including SKY, Hyperliquid (HYPE), and Lido (LDO), all of which are up about 10% at the time of publication.