Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong urged the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) against “creating enforcement actions against decentralized (DeFi) protocols” because “it’s highly unlikely the Commodity Exchange Act” applies to them, according to a Sept. 14 post on X (formerly Twitter).

According to Armstrong, these protocols are not “financial service businesses” and should take these cases to court to “establish precedent.” “The courts have proven to be very willing to uphold [the] rule of law,” he added.

CFTC targeting DeFi protocols

Armstong’s statement is coming on the heels of the recent unregistered derivatives trading charges filed by the CFTC against three DeFi protocols, including Opyn, Deridex, and ZeroEx.

In bringing the charges, the regulator’s director of …