Crypto lobby group the DeFi Education Fund and the Uniswap Foundation have said the Securities and Exchange Commission should be hands-off on regulating decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs).

The May 27 letter to SEC Crypto Task Force lead Hester Peirce argued that the agency should not treat DAOs under the purview of the securities-defining Howey test if they’re “sufficiently decentralized,” as they are not identifiable and are not a coordinated group.

Instead, the pair said DAOs should be treated as individuals or a group of persons unless proved otherwise. 

“If a DAO has a dispersed collection of tokenholders who have the opportunity to actively participate in and govern the DAO and the network, it is sufficiently decentralized such that neither the network token for that DAO, nor transactions in which that network token are the object, should be considered a security.” the letter read.

The letter was issued in response to Peirce’s Feb. 21 statement, which invited comments on crypto.

Favorable regulatory environment

The SEC has flipped on its crypto enforcement actions under the Trump administration, which successfully installed the former crypto lobbyist Paul Atkins to lead the agency.

Atkins has stated that blockchain technology could usher in new forms of market activity.

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The following week, Atkins said that the regulator would not stifle innovation and lambasted the Biden administration’s approach to crypto.

In a May 20 SEC oversight hearing, Atkins confirmed that the Crypto Task Force’s first report will be released in the next few months, the group is also holding a series of crypto-related roundtable discussions with industry players.

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Eric Adams wants to repeal New York’s BitLicense, which the state launched in 2015 and has been criticised by the crypto industry for being too costly.

Swyftx lead analyst Pav Hundal says “a wall of money” is coming into Bitcoin after a US court blocked Donald Trump’s tariffs.

“This week is absolutely critical,” said analyst Willy Woo, who cautioned that more consolidation could be ahead for Bitcoin.

Elon Musk says he’s quitting his cost-cutting side hustle DOGE, admitting he spent “too much time on politics” and it was harder than he anticipated.

K33 CEO Bull Jenssen said his firm hopes to use its Bitcoin holdings as a foundation to offer new services, such as BTC-backed lending.

Norwegian crypto brokerage K33 plans to join the growing number of public companies buying up Bitcoin after raising 60 million Swedish krona ($6.2 million) to buy and hold the cryptocurrency.

K33 said on May 28 that it secured financing through convertible loans and a new issue of shares and warrants, which “will be used in full to acquire Bitcoin in order to establish the Bitcoin Treasury Strategy.”

Warrants are zero-interest securities that investors can later convert into equity at the same price. K33 could purchase up to 57 Bitcoin (BTC) at BTC’s current price of just over $108,000. 

Source: K33

K33 CEO Bull Jenssen posted to X on May 28 that he thinks Bitcoin will be the “best-performing asset in the coming decade,” and his company will “accumulate as many as possible while unlocking powerful operational synergies with our brokerage operation.”

“Why wait for the government to build a Bitcoin reserve when you can build you own? Initial financing is secured and we are ready to accelerate from here!” he added in another post. 

The convertible loans total 45 million Swedish krona ($4.6 million), are interest-free and mature on June 30, 2028. The remaining 15 million Swedish krona ($1.5 million) will come through a new share issuance and warrants, according to K33. 

If investors convert their warrants before March 2026, they are entitled to additional free warrants at the same conversion rate. If fully exercised, K33 could raise up to 75 million Swedish krona ($7.7 million) for its Bitcoin buy. 

Bitcoin treasury part of expansion plans 

In K33’s interim report for the first quarter, released May 28, Jenssen said K33 is working with other Bitcoin treasury companies in the Nordics and hopes to use its treasury as a foundation to offer new services, such as BTC-backed lending. 

“For K33, Bitcoin is not only a high-conviction asset — it’s also a strategic enabler. With a sizable BTC reserve, we will be able to strengthen our financial position while unlocking new revenue streams, product capabilities, and partnerships,” he said. 

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K33’s share price traded flat with the news of its Bitcoin treasury pivot and closed May 28 trading down 1.96%, according to Google Finance.

K33’s stock price wasn’t affected by the announcement of the firm’s Bitcoin strategy. Source: Google Finance

Some companies have seen their stock prices gain after announcing a Bitcoin buying plan.

Video game retailer GameStop shares jumped nearly 12% on March 26 after the company announced plans to purchase Bitcoin. However, it dropped 11% on May 11 after GameStop made its first purchase of 4,710 Bitcoin.

Meanwhile, when Paris-based crypto company Blockchain Group started buying Bitcoin on Nov. 5, its stock spiked 225% to 0.48 euros ($0.52).

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Former CFTC chair Rostin Behnam said the crypto market will remain unregulated unless the agency he led under President Joe Biden is given greater authority.

Crypto mining stocks fell on May 28 amid uncertainty stemming from the Federal Reserve’s minutes, while the broader crypto market remained relatively resilient.

Blockchain land record management firm Balcony has signed a five-year deal with officials in New Jersey’s Bergen County to tokenize 370,000 property deeds onchain.