Uniswap Labs, a16z, and DeFi Education Fund challenge Illinois tax rules
CIE News ·
Based on reporting by Bitcoin.com News; not yet independently confirmed.
Uniswap Labs, a16z, and the DeFi Education Fund submitted a joint filing against Illinois tax rules that classify decentralized exchanges as brokers, warning of a de facto DeFi ban.
Uniswap Labs, venture firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), and the DeFi Education Fund submitted a joint letter on October 30, 2026, protesting proposed rules under the Illinois Digital Asset Tax Act, according to Bitcoin.com News. The organizations argued that the Illinois Department of Revenue's proposal improperly labels decentralized exchanges as conventional financial brokers. Because autonomous smart contracts cannot identify users, collect taxes, or hold custody of funds, the groups warned the measures amount to a de facto ban on decentralized finance in the state.
The letter objected to provisions requiring brokers to store records containing cryptocurrency private keys, warning that retaining these credentials creates major security risks for user funds. The signatories urged regulators to substitute the requirement with public keys instead. They also criticized rules that would tax transfers between blockchains and withdrawals to personal wallets. Illinois enacted the Digital Asset Tax Act in June, introducing a 0.2% tax on the gross value of covered cryptocurrency transactions rather than on realized profits, with the deadline delayed to July 2027.
Key facts
- Challenge to tax rules
- 0.2% transaction tax
- Private key retention contested
- Deadline delayed to July 2027
Read the original at Bitcoin.com News