Galaxy Research Director: New SEC Rules End the Vague Standards of the "Gensler Era," Reshaping the Boundaries of Digital Asset Regulation

In an article published on the X platform, Alex Thorn, Director of Galaxy Research, pointed out that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued landmark guidance this week, clearly classifying digital assets into five categories: digital commodities, digital collectibles, digital instruments, stablecoins, and digital securities (or tokenized securities). The guidance clarifies that only the last category is considered a security and requires registration or exemption from registration under federal securities laws. This 2026 guidance replaces the "investment contract" analysis framework used during Chairman Clayton's tenure in 2019. It is a committee-level interpretation document approved by all SEC commissioners and published in the Federal Register. This signifies a shift in the SEC's approach to digital asset regulation from the hostile and ambiguous rules of the Gensler era to a more structured, transparent, and supportive attitude towards the industry. Key changes include: non-security digital assets can be freely traded on secondary markets after fulfilling the core governance commitments made by the issuer and are no longer continuously considered securities; the use of "full decentralization" as a criterion has been removed, and the basis for judgment has been explicitly stated as the issuer's public commitments; clear safe harbor provisions have been provided, such as airdrops, mining, and staking generally not constituting securities transactions; and the scope of the "Efforts of Others" analysis has been significantly narrowed, focusing only on the issuer's core governance commitments and ignoring third-party market speculation or community commentary. The guidance was also jointly issued with the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), which agreed to follow the SEC's interpretation of classifying non-securities assets as "commodities." This guidance explicitly ends the regulatory model of the Gary Gensler era, provides clear expectations for the market, and lays the foundation for further institutionalization of digital assets. However, it may still be affected by future changes in the SEC commission. This policy shift highlights a mature regulatory approach to digital assets. Alex Thorn also echoed the industry's push for the CLARITY Act, which is expected to provide more lasting legal protection for the long-term development of Bitcoin and crypto assets in the U.S. capital market.