For the first time, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has sought to clearly define the different types of cryptoassets and how the regulator will address them, issuing those new standards on Tuesday alongside its sister agency responsible for commodities.
The SEC’s interpretive guidance, which does not yet carry the weight of a formal new rule, was promised by its leader, Chairman Paul Atkins, who was appointed by President Donald Trump to enact a pro-crypto agenda. And it was issued in partnership with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, just days after the two agencies agreed to a formal relationship in which they plan to regulate cryptocurrencies and other industries as close partners.
“After more than a decade of uncertainty, this interpretation will provide market participants with a clear understanding of how the Commission treats crypto assets under the federal securities laws,” Atkins said in a statement.
The SEC’s previous chairman, Democratic appointee Gary Gensler, had refused to commit to customized policies for the crypto sector, leaving a long-standing gap in its regulator’s confidence in the world’s most important market. Atkins said Tuesday’s new interpretation of the “token taxonomy” takes a stance that Gensler’s agency rejected: “Most cryptoassets are not securities in and of themselves.”
Atkins spoke about this at the Digital Chamber’s DC Blockchain Summit, and his agency plans to launch a formal rulemaking process “in a week or two,” which will have more “crypto proposals that we will address,” he said in response to a question from CoinDesk after his comments. That proposal, expected to be more than 400 pages, will include his plans for an “innovation exemption” for crypto companies.
But the guidance issued Tuesday by the CFTC was an important step and outlined the classification of four categories of crypto tokens from regulators’ legal perspective.
“The interpretation then clarifies that only one class of cryptoassets remains subject to securities laws, namely digital securities, which are traditional securities in new technologies,” he said. “This distinction returns the SEC to its primary mission and legal authority of protecting investors involved in securities transactions.”
Furthermore, those investment contracts that are securities do not necessarily maintain that status permanently, he said.
“We’re no longer the securities commission and everything else,” he said Tuesday at the Digital Chamber’s DC Blockchain Summit, just minutes after publishing the new standard. The line drew enthusiastic applause from the crypto crowd.
The guide seeks to define digital products, digital collectibles, digital tools, stablecoins and digital securities. It also clarifies how US securities laws should treat airdrops, protocol mining, protocol staking, and non-security cryptoasset wrapping.
“For too long, American builders, innovators and entrepreneurs have waited for clear guidance on the status of crypto assets under federal securities and commodities laws,” said CFTC Chairman Mike Selig.
Atkins said legislation being drafted in Congress to establish new cryptocurrency laws will be the only way to ensure policy changes in favor of digital assets stick.
In the new guidance, the commission says that a digital asset becomes a security when its issuer offers it as an investment in a common enterprise that comes with promises of profits based on management’s efforts. However, such an investment contract ends when “either the issuer has fulfilled its representations or promises or the issuer has failed to fulfill its representations or promises,” at which point it would no longer be regulated as a security.
The SEC says its scope into digital securities does not include airdrops, protocol staking, and protocol mining.
The CFTC’s Selig said his agency was also signing on to the same taxonomy, as part of the two agencies’ effort toward “harmonization.”
“I think the signal now is clear that it’s time to build in America,” he said.
Atkins told a group of reporters after the event in Washington to “keep your seats,” because the agency is preparing dozens of proposals, including some on digital assets.
UPDATE (March 17, 2026, 20:35 UTC): Add additional details.
UPDATE (March 17, 2026, 21:17 UTC): Adds comments from Atkins after the Washington event.
