SEC and CFTC clarify crypto
U.S. regulators issued joint guidance defining which crypto assets are securities and which are commodities, explicitly naming 16 assets as commodities and clarifying rules for staking, airdrops and mining — a major legal shift for exchanges and wallets. The new framework aims to reduce legal uncertainty and is already being framed as a roadmap for how backend compliance layers should classify and handle tokens at runtime. (reuters.com)
Interpretive Release No. 33‑11412 was issued jointly on March 17, 2026 and is the formal interpretive document published by the SEC and CFTC (the release carries Nos. 33‑11412 and 34‑105020). (sec.gov) The agencies set out a five‑category token taxonomy — digital commodities, digital collectibles, digital tools, stablecoins and digital securities — and state that federal securities laws apply only to the “digital securities” category. (sec.gov) The release includes an explicit roster of 16 digital‑commodity tokens that the agencies identify in the interpretive material (for example: BTC, ETH, SOL, HBAR, XRP, LINK, ADA, AVAX, DOT, XLM, APT, LTC, DOGE, SHIB, XTZ and BCH). (sec.gov) The text gives operational rules for token lifecycle events: protocol staking, protocol mining, certain airdrops and the wrapping of non‑security tokens do not automatically create an investment contract, and a “non‑security” can cease to be an investment contract once issuer representations are fulfilled or fail. (sec.gov) The CFTC formally joined the interpretation and said it will administer the Commodity Exchange Act consistent with the SEC’s interpretation, clarifying that the CFTC will oversee spot markets for digital commodities while the SEC retains authority over digital securities. (cftc.gov) SEC Chair Paul S. Atkins announced the agency will pursue a “fit‑for‑purpose startup exemption” (a safe‑harbor proposal) to provide bespoke capital‑raising pathways for crypto firms and said a proposal for safe harbors will be released for comment in the coming weeks. (money.usnews.com)
