Ethereum Giants Form Alliance in $100 Billion DeFi Policy War

Seven of Ethereum’s most established protocol teams, including Aragon, Lido Labs Foundation, and the Uniswap Foundation, have joined forces to form the Ethereum Protocol Advocacy Alliance (EPAA).

The alliance represents a rare moment of unity among Ethereum’s core builders, as growing regulatory scrutiny in the US and Europe threatens to reshape governance for decentralized systems.

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Ethereum’s Protocol Teams Go on the Offensive Amid Tightening Regulation

For years, Ethereum’s Layer-1 protocols have quietly powered DeFi, stablecoins, and smart contracts across the global web3 ecosystem. However, as governments rush to regulate crypto, protocol developers, not just exchanges, are being drawn into policy debates.

The new global coalition will defend the open infrastructure that secures more than $100 billion in on-chain assets.

In announcing the EPAA, the founding teams stated that their goal is to ensure laws and regulations accurately reflect how blockchain systems operate, rather than how they are perceived.

“We’ve seen firsthand the technical and practical complexity involved in building on-chain systems. Bringing together the most credible protocol teams will help ensure regulatory outcomes are workable for the builders moving this space forward,” said Anthony Leutenegger, CEO of Aragon, in a statement shared with BeInCrypto.

What the Alliance Stands For

The EPAA’s shared policy framework centers on four key priorities:

• Protecting the neutrality of the protocol layer, ensuring code itself isn’t subject to regulation.
• Advancing on-chain transparency as a real-time, verifiable source of compliance.
• Preserving flexibility for innovation by avoiding rigid or overbroad standards.
• Upholding global access to permissionless, decentralized infrastructure.

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Each of these principles reflects a broader concern among Ethereum’s technical community. More closely, the concern is that policymakers may unintentionally constrain the open networks that make DeFi resilient.

“Decentralization is the foundation of Ethereum’s credibility and resilience. Through the EPAA, we’re ensuring that policy recognizes and protects this principle,” read an excerpt in the statement, citing Sam Kim, Chief Legal Officer at Lido Labs Foundation.

Meanwhile, the Uniswap Foundation’s Brian Nistler added that the project’s past regulatory battles reinforced the need for developers themselves to have a seat at the table.

Ethereum’s Builders to Bring Credibility to Crypto Policy

The formation of the EPAA marks a maturing phase in crypto governance, as builders transition into advocates. Unlike traditional trade associations, the group has no central leadership, budget, or lobbying arm.

Instead, it coordinates with existing advocacy networks such as the DeFi Education Fund, the Decentralization Research Center, and the European Crypto Initiative, offering technical insight and developer credibility to policymakers.

“Those who build decentralized systems should help shape the rules that govern them,” said Connor Spelliscy, Executive Director of the Decentralization Research Center.

The move comes as lawmakers globally weigh new frameworks for DeFi and smart contract regulation. In both Washington and Brussels, officials are grappling with how to classify decentralized infrastructure that has no central operator, a challenge the EPAA hopes to clarify.

While the Ethereum Protocol Advocacy Alliance currently includes just seven founding members, the alliance is designed to grow over time.