[CoinDesk] Crypto Long & Short: The GENIUS Act’s guarantees don’t cover DeFi lending

The GENIUS Act’s stablecoin guarantees do not extend to DeFi lending markets, leaving lenders exposed to governance votes and faulty price feeds even when loans are denominated in fully backed stablecoins, according to Ajna’s Mike Hathaway and Joseph Quintilian. The core risk is who can alter a loan’s terms after capital is deployed, not which market appears safest on stablecoin backing alone. The authors argue institutions evaluating DeFi lending should scrutinize protocol governance and oracle design rather than assuming stablecoin reserves confer protection. Watch for how lending protocols structure upgrade and parameter-change rights, and whether oracle safeguards become a due-diligence standard for institutional entrants.