SEC says most crypto assets are not securities

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Sec says most crypto

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SEC says most crypto assets are not securities
Regulatory focus shifts toward CFTC and commodity framework
New guidance clarifies rules for staking, airdrops, and tokens

SEC shifts focus toward commodities

One of the key priorities for the new leadership of the SEC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is to define digital assets and clarify the division of regulatory oversight. Under the previous U.S. administration, the SEC played the dominant role in regulating cryptocurrencies. Now, however, the initiative appears to be shifting toward the CFTC.

SEC Chair Paul Atkins stated that the previous administration failed to acknowledge that most crypto assets are not securities in themselves and that investment contracts can be terminated. This stance led to numerous lawsuits and allegations of unregistered securities offerings, resulting in halted large-scale projects, major legal disputes, and operational restrictions for crypto companies in the United States.

Among the most notable cases were those involving Ripple, Coinbase, Kraken, and Binance, where crypto trading was treated as an unregistered securities offering. Other prominent cases include Telegram and Block.one, where the SEC blocked fundraising through ICOs.

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According to the newly published guidance, which is supported by the CFTC leadership, “only one class of crypto assets remains subject to securities laws” — namely, tokenized traditional securities.

As stated in the SEC press release, the joint guidance with the CFTC will:

Provide a unified token taxonomy covering digital commodities, collectibles, instruments, stablecoins, and digital securities
Explain how a crypto asset that is not inherently a security may still fall under an investment contract — and how it may cease to do so
Clarify the application of federal securities laws to airdrops, protocol mining, staking, and wrapping of non-security crypto assets

The full guidance will be published on SEC.gov and in the Federal Register. Market participants — from innovators and issuers to individual investors — are encouraged to review it to better understand the regulatory jurisdiction between the SEC and CFTC.

Toward greater regulatory clarity

For now, the document serves as an important bridge between years of regulatory uncertainty and the bipartisan Clarity Act on market structure, currently under development in Congress and expected to be adopted in the near future.

The guidance can be seen as a significant signal of a shift in U.S. regulatory policy toward greater clarity and predictability for the crypto market. The effective acknowledgment that most crypto assets are not securities reduces regulatory risks for projects and investors that have faced aggressive enforcement in recent years.

At the same time, the redistribution of authority toward the CFTC may indicate a transition to a more “commodity-based” model of crypto regulation, potentially simplifying product launches and encouraging greater institutional participation.

If закрепed in the upcoming Clarity Act, this approach could provide the long-awaited regulatory framework needed to accelerate industry growth in the United States and strengthen its global competitiveness.

As we wrote, SEC and CFTC prepare joint approach to regulating U.S. crypto market

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