The DAO management platform Tally has ceased operations "due to regulatory easing in the U.S."

During the DC Blockchain Summit, SEC Chairman Paul Atkins introduced a new token taxonomy and an updated interpretation of investment contracts.

According to him, the agency aims to eliminate regulatory uncertainty. The new interpretation identifies four categories of assets that are not considered securities:

The head of the regulator clarified that only one class of assets falls under relevant legislation — "digital securities." This refers exclusively to tokenized versions of traditional financial instruments.

Concept of Crypto Asset Regulation

Atkins also announced the development of a set of rules called Regulation Crypto Assets, which will create transparent legal avenues for capital raising in the industry.

The proposal, which the SEC will review in the coming weeks, includes three key mechanisms:

  1. Startup Exemption. A temporary measure (up to four years) for early-stage projects. Developers can raise up to $5 million by providing basic disclosures (similar to a white paper).
  2. Fundraising Exemption. This will allow raising up to $75 million annually. Issuers will need to disclose their financial status and reports.
  3. "Safe Harbor" for Investment Contracts. An asset will no longer be considered part of an investment contract once the issuer fulfills initial obligations and transfers control to the community (essentially achieving decentralization).

The SEC chairman emphasized that this initiative builds on ideas from Commissioner Hester Peirce, who proposed the Token Safe Harbor concept back in 2020. The rules will also align with bipartisan legislative initiatives in Congress and provisions of the Clarity Act.

Atkins stressed that the regulator's goal is to restore trust in the safety of innovations in the U.S. The SEC and CFTC plan to collaborate on implementing these standards.

The Flip Side of Liberalization

Amid the easing of regulatory conditions, Tally, a management platform for DAOs, announced its closure. The service operated for six years and served over 500 organizations, including Uniswap, Arbitrum, and ENS.

This is the end folks. https://t.co/EKzYo0qDWG

— Dennison (@DennisonBertram) March 17, 2026

Tally CEO Dennison Bertram stated in a comment to CoinDesk that the decision was primarily due to changes in regulatory policy in the U.S. He noted that the strict stance of former SEC Chairman Gary Gensler forced projects to shift to decentralized governance to avoid having their tokens classified as securities. Tally's tools were part of this legal defense strategy.

With the arrival of a more lenient administration, regulatory pressure has decreased, leading to a drop in demand for complex on-chain governance tools.

"The [Trump] administration is signaling: 'You have no problems, do what you want.' This provides immense freedom, but now it's unclear if decentralization is even necessary," Bertram noted.

This trend is echoed by other market participants. Earlier, Across Protocol co-founder Hart Lambur suggested dissolving DAOs. The exchange Jupiter and Yuga Labs have also abandoned decentralized structures.

Another factor contributing to the closure was the failure of the "infinite garden" hypothesis regarding L2 networks. Tally had anticipated the emergence of thousands of new blockchains, but the market consolidated around a few major players. Additionally, Bertram noted an outflow of specialized professionals into the artificial intelligence sector.

Recall that in January, the SEC clarified that tokenized securities are fully subject to federal legislation for traditional instruments.

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