SEC and CFTC publish a shared crypto-asset interpretation

The US Securities and Exchange Commission issued an interpretation on 17 March addressing how federal securities laws apply to certain crypto assets and transactions. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission joined it, saying its administration of the Commodity Exchange Act would be consistent with the interpretation. The SEC announcement identifies five categories: digital commodities, digital collectibles, digital tools, stablecoins and digital securities. It also addresses airdrops, protocol mining, protocol staking and wrapping. SEC announcement.

The SEC says an asset that is not itself a security can nevertheless be involved in an investment contract. The interpretation addresses both how that relationship can arise and how it may end. The distinction matters to builders because naming a token’s category does not alone settle the treatment of every transaction involving it. The announcement is agency guidance on applying existing law; the SEC describes it as complementary to congressional work on market structure. SEC announcement.

The official rule record identifies release numbers 33-11412 and 34-105020 and file S7-2026-09. It records 17 March as the issue date and 23 March as both the effective date and Federal Register publication date. The record classifies the action as interpretive. These details locate the precise agency document readers can consult, rather than treating a press-release summary as the full legal analysis. The guidance concerns US federal jurisdiction, and the announcement does not establish identical treatment for a token in other countries. SEC interpretive-release record.