Technically Legal - A Legal Technology and Innovation Podcast Ayana Dow on Updating Crypto Regulation and Preserving the Freedom to Build (Senior Counsel, Defi Education Fund)
Apr 16, 2026
Ayana Dow, Senior Counsel at the DeFi Education Fund who moved from Big Law and Capitol Hill to DeFi policy. She discusses regulatory clarity for crypto and the distinction between decentralized protocols and centralized entities. She explains efforts to educate lawmakers and agencies, why protecting developers matters, and how market structure bills could shift oversight to the CFTC.
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Tennis Taught Real Time Legal Pivoting
- Dow played collegiate tennis and compares in-match pivots to real-time legal problem solving in crypto.
- She says sudden regulator statements force quick strategy shifts, similar to recovering from a lost service game in tennis.
DEF Focuses On Education To Shape Policy
- DeFi Education Fund (DEF) is a nonpartisan advocacy group focused on educating lawmakers and the public to shape sound DeFi policy.
- DEF commissions studies, files comments, and provides baseline technical explanations to inform future rulemakings.
Move In House To Own Policy Work
- If you want sustained policy work, consider moving in-house or to advocacy where you own long-term strategy rather than a billable-law-firm role.
- Dow says in-house gives ownership and daily policy focus missing at firms due to billing pressures.