For the first time, the US Securities and Exchange Commission has sought to clearly define different types of cryptoassets and how the regulator will approach them by issuing these 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, has been promised by its head, Chairman Paul Atkins, who was put in place by President Donald Trump to adopt a pro-crypto agenda. And it was issued in conjunction with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, just days after the two agencies agreed to a formal relationship in which they plan to regulate crypto 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 cryptoassets under federal securities laws,” Atkins said in a statement.
The former chairman of the SEC, Democratic appointee Gary Gensler, had refused to commit to tailored policies for the crypto sector, leaving a long-standing gap in its regulator’s security in the world’s most important market. Atkins said the new “token taxonomy” interpretation Tuesday takes a position that Gensler’s agency denied: “Most cryptoassets are not inherently securities.”
Atkins spoke about it at the Digital Chamber’s DC Blockchain Summit, and his agency plans to launch a formal rulemaking process “in a week or two” that will have additional crypto “proposals that we will address,” he said in response to a question from CoinDesk following his remarks. That proposal — expected to be more than 400 pages long — will include his plans for an “innovation exemption” for crypto firms.
But Tuesday’s guidance issued with the CFTC was an important step, outlining the classification of four categories of crypto-tokens in the regulators’ legal perspective.
“The interpretation then clarifies that only one crypto-asset class remains subject to securities laws, namely digital securities, which are traditional new technology securities,” he said. “This distinction returns the SEC to its core mission and statutory authority to protect investors involved in securities transactions.”
In addition, the investment contracts that are securities do not necessarily retain this status permanently, he said.
“We’re not the securities and everything commission anymore,” he said Tuesday at the Digital Chamber’s DC Blockchain Summit, just minutes after the release of the new standard. The line drew enthusiastic applause from the crypto crowd.
The guidance seeks to define digital commodities, digital collectibles, digital tools, stablecoins and digital securities. It also clarifies how US securities laws will treat airdrops, protocol mining, protocol staking and wrapping of non-security cryptoassets.
“For far too long, American builders, innovators and entrepreneurs have been waiting for clear guidance on the status of cryptoassets under the federal securities and commodities laws,” said CFTC Chairman Mike Selig.
Atkins said the legislation being drafted in Congress to establish new crypto laws will be the only way to guarantee the permanence of the pro-digital asset policy shift.
In the new guidance, the commission says a digital asset becomes a security when its issuer offers it as an investment in a joint venture 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 for digital securities does not include airdrops, protocol efforts and protocol mining.
The CFTC’s Selig said his agency also signed on to the same taxonomy as part of the two agencies’ push toward “harmonization.”
“I think the signal is clear now that it’s time to build in the United States,” he said.
Atkins told a group of reporters after the Washington event to “hold on to your seats” because the agency is finalizing dozens of proposals, including some on digital assets.
UPDATE (March 17, 2026, 20:35 UTC): Adds additional details.
UPDATE (17 March 2026, 21:17 UTC): Adds comments from Atkins after the Washington event.
