🏴 Uncovering DeFi's Hidden Risks

Summary

It was an instructive convo that stands on its own, but in listening I learned Hong's also the maestro behind Herd, a new platform that has the makings of an incredible DeFi due diligence tool.

I checked it out and love it. It could've prevented past exploits, and I'm sure it'll stop future ones.

Sponsor: WisdomTree Prime® [ – Tokenized RWAs designed for Yield, Transparency, & Programmability.

1. ⚖️ SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce signaled today that curated DeFi vaults could land inside the SEC's jurisdiction [ depending on how actively managed they are, echoing her earlier "tokenized securities are still securities" POV. 2. 💸 A new draft of the Clarity Act now circulating in the Senate includes the long-demanded ethics provision [ restricting Trump's crypto dealings, though it would sunset in 2029 and give the DOJ enforcement authority, conditions Democrats are already rejecting as insufficient.

To navigate DeFi cautiously, you can read docs, check analytics, deposit small, prune approvals, and so forth. But still, if you don't truly understand what you're using, and how it connects to other onchain money legos, you can get burned all the same.

The big challenge when it comes to modern DeFi vaults specifically is that they aren't single contracts you can readily digest on Etherscan. Today, just one vault position can touch 100s of interlinked smart contracts like adapters, wrappers, operator wallets, etc.