U.S SEC issues first-ever definitions for what crypto assets are securities

For the first time, the U.S Securities and Exchange Commission has sought to clearly define different types of crypto assets and how the regulator will approach them, issuing those new standards Tuesday alongside its sister agency that’s responsible for commodities.

The SEC’s interpretive guidance, which doesn’t yet carry the weight of a formal new rule, has been promised by its leader, Chairman Paul Atkins, who was put in place 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 on 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 crypto assets under federal securities laws,” Atkins said in a statement.

The previous chairman of the SEC, Democratic appointee Gary Gensler, had declined to commit to tailored policies for the crypto sector, leaving a longstanding gap in its regulator certainty in the world’s most important market. Atkins said the new “token taxonomy” interpretation on Tuesday takes a stance that Gensler’s agency refused to: “Most crypto assets are not themselves securities.”

Atkins spoke about it at the Digital Chamber’s DC Blockchain Summit, and his agency is planning to launch a formal rulemaking process “in a week or two,” which will have further crypto “proposals in that we’ll be addressing,” he said in response to a question from CoinDesk after his remarks. That proposal — expected to be more than 400 pages — will include his plans for an “innovation exemption” for crypto firms.

But Tuesday’s guidance issued with the CFTC was a significant step, and it outlined 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 securities in new technology,” he said. “This distinction returns the SEC to its core mission and statutory authority of protecting investors involved in securities transactions.”

Additionally, those investment contracts that are securities don’t necessarily keep that 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 releasing 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 U.S. securities laws should treat airdrops, protocol mining, protocol staking and the wrapping non-security crypto assets.

“For far too long, American builders, innovators, and entrepreneurs have awaited clear guidance on the status of crypto assets under the federal securities and commodity laws,” said CFTC Chairman Mike Selig.

Atkins said that the legislation being devised in Congress to establish new crypto laws will be the only way to guarantee the permanence of pro-digital assets policy shifts.
In the new guidance, the commission is saying 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 the management’s efforts. Such an investment contract ends, though, when “either the issuer has fulfilled its representations or promises or the issuer has failed to satisfy its representations or promises,” at which point it wouldn’t be regulated as a security anymore.

The SEC says its reach 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’ 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 getting dozens of proposals ready, including some on digital assets.

UPDATE (March 17, 2026, 20:35 UTC): Adds additional detail.

UPDATE (March 17, 2026, 21:17 UTC): Adds comments from Atkins after the Washington event.