The SEC's shift in stance presents a "generational opportunity" for DeFi and Ethereum (ETH).

As the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) shows signs of changing direction in digital asset regulation, the cryptocurrency industry is evaluating this as a "generational opportunity" and expressing expectations. In particular, an analysis suggests that this change could provide a structural upward momentum for the entire Ethereum (ETH) and DeFi ecosystem. Matt Hougan, Chief Investment Officer of Bitwise Asset Management, mentioned this possibility in a recent investor memo. He shared a speech by SEC Commissioner Paul Atkins at the 'America First Policy Institute', evaluating it as the "most optimistic U.S. government document" in his cryptocurrency career. Particularly, the 'Project Crypto' introduced in the speech contains a specific roadmap to establish the U.S. as a global cryptocurrency leader. Hougan pointed out that the market has not yet reflected the impact of these policy changes. He stated, "Although I have studied and written about cryptocurrencies for the past 8 years, after reading this speech, I myself began to imagine a bigger plan and faster changes." The positive SEC stance could serve as a growth catalyst across layer-1 smart contract platforms like Ethereum and Solana (SOL), public exchanges such as Coinbase ($COIN) and Robinhood ($HOOD), and major DeFi protocols like Uniswap (UNI) and Aave (AAVE). Hougan warned that market participants might miss high-yield opportunities in high-beta asset classes if they overlook this turning point. Some in the industry still argue for a cautious approach, considering the SEC's long-standing hostile attitude. However, Hougan suggests that these statements could be a turning point, emphasizing that a sophisticated re-evaluation is underway. In a related development, SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce also delivered an important message at a digital finance conference. She criticized that U.S. authorities are excessively strengthening surveillance-centered regulations, despite blockchain technology being an effective means of protecting financial privacy. Particularly, she pointed out that the Bank Secrecy Act and SEC's Consolidated Audit Trail (CAT) infringe on individual freedoms, emphasizing the need to recognize privacy-enhancing technologies like zero-knowledge proofs (ZKP) and DeFi's utility. She argued that the current system, which treats open-source developers as criminals or imposes unnecessary reporting obligations on peer-to-peer transactions, needs improvement. As pro-cryptocurrency perspectives gradually emerge within the SEC, there are forecasts that if policy changes become a reality, the U.S. digital asset market could enter a new growth trajectory. The industry is now at a point where it must reset the balance between risk and opportunity.