Joey Krug, a partner at venture capital firm Founders Fund, revealed at the ETHDenver conference that the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC), led by former chairperson Gary Gensler, used a settlement agreement to force the founders of decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms to promise never to work in the cryptocurrency industry again. "The government found the founders of the DeFi agreement in many cases and basically told them they had to settle with us," says Mr. Krug. "In many cases, they asked to sign a document pledging never to work in crypto again. And because there are non-derogatory clauses, these agreements cannot be discussed publicly." He also claims that the regulators threaten the founders: "If you don't agree to these terms, you will go to jail." Krug said he initially did not believe the settlements existed until some unnamed founders showed him that they did contain "never engage in the crypto industry" and "no external discussions."