New SEC rules: Most crypto assets are no longer securities – a major boon for the industry?

Introduction

March 17, 2026, Washington.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) simultaneously pressed the send button, and a joint interpretative notice quietly went live. There were no dramatic enforcement actions, no tense indictments, only a calm official document, yet it stirred up a massive wave in the crypto world.

The SEC finally admitted: Most crypto assets are not securities.

This is the clearest statement from U.S. regulators on crypto assets since the birth of Bitcoin.

For an industry that has been waiting for regulatory clarity for a decade, this is undoubtedly a welcome relief. But is it just a brief respite, or a genuine paradigm shift? Let's cut through the fog and find out. I. Core Interpretation: Five Asset Classes, One Red Line This interpretative notice, titled "SEC Clarifies the Application of Federal Securities Laws to Crypto Assets," focuses on establishing a coherent token taxonomy. The SEC categorizes crypto assets into five main categories: Digital Commodities – such as Bitcoin, which has commodity attributes; Digital Collectibles – such as NFTs, which have collectible value; and Digital Tools. — Utility tokens with specific functions — Stablecoins — Stores of value pegged to fiat currency — Digital securities — Tokenized forms of traditional securities — The subtext of this classification is extremely clear: — Except for the fifth category, the first four categories are no longer under the jurisdiction of the SEC. More importantly, the SEC acknowledged a long-standing reality that the industry has repeatedly emphasized but regulators have ignored—investment contracts can "come to an end." When a token raises funds through an ICO (Initial Coin Offering) in its early stages, it may constitute an investment contract and fall into the category of a security. However, when the network is sufficiently decentralized, and when the expected returns for early investors no longer primarily depend on the project team's efforts, the token itself can shed its security attributes and revert to its essence as a commodity or tool. This understanding directly overturns the enforcement philosophy of former SEC Chairman Gary Gensler, which held that "the vast majority of crypto tokens are securities." II. The Reversal of Regulatory Attitude: From "Refusal to Acknowledge" to "Drawing the Lines" If the document itself is cold, hard text, then the statement by SEC Chairman Paul S. Atkins injects it with a scorching political heat. In his speech at the DC Blockchain Summit, Atkins bluntly pointed out that this also acknowledges a fact that the previous administration refused to admit—most crypto assets are not securities. "The previous administration"—these three words directly refer to Gary Gensler, the SEC Chairman during the Biden administration. Back in 2023, Gensler declared at the Piper Sandler conference: "Securities laws from 90 years ago apply to the crypto market," and "The vast majority of crypto tokens are securities." He cited the Howey Test, emphasizing that the utility of tokens cannot eliminate their security attributes, even characterizing staking as a service as "a definite security." At that time, the SEC was a Damocles' sword hanging over the industry. Exchanges like Binance and Coinbase were sued one after another, and DEXs (decentralized exchanges) like EtherDelta were not spared either, bringing the industry's development in the United States to a near standstill. Now, Atkins and his Republican colleagues—Mark Uyeda and Hester Peirce—are taking action to announce the end of an era. The Token Safe Harbor concept, proposed by Commissioner Peirce as early as 2020, has finally moved from the periphery to the core, becoming the theoretical cornerstone of the new policy. Atkins explicitly stated in his speech that a Regulation Crypto Assets framework will be launched in the future, including a Startup Exemption for early-stage projects and a Fundraising Exemption for financing, providing a compliant path forward for crypto innovation. III. CFTC's Cooperation: A New Era of Regulatory Coordination If the SEC's shift was expected, then the CFTC's cooperation is a pleasant surprise. CFTC Chairman Michael S. Selig stated in a statement: "American builders, innovators, and entrepreneurs have waited far too long for clear guidance on the status of crypto assets. With today's interpretation, the wait is over." This is the first major joint action by the two federal regulatory agencies since signing the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). Selig emphasized their commitment to "cultivating a regulatory environment that allows the crypto industry to thrive in the United States." This means that the past situation where the SEC and CFTC hindered each other in their struggle for jurisdiction is expected to be replaced by truly coordinated regulation. For assets such as Bitcoin and Ethereum that may be classified as digital commodities, future regulation will be led by the CFTC, not the SEC. This is undoubtedly a major positive for key matters such as ETF approval and exchange compliance. IV. Market Impact: The End of Uncertainty or the Beginning of New Problems? For the crypto market, the impact of this interpretative notice is multi-layered. In the short term, uncertainty has been significantly reduced. Exchanges can more clearly determine which tokens need to be registered with the SEC and which can be freely listed. Project teams can more clearly plan their compliance paths. Activities such as airdrops, protocol mining, and staking, which have long been in a gray area, now have clear regulatory jurisdiction. In the medium term, compliance costs are expected to decrease. Clear rules mean that project teams no longer need to spend huge sums of money dealing with ambiguous regulatory risks and can invest resources in genuine business innovation. In the long term, the United States is expected to regain its position as the global center of crypto innovation. In the past few years, due to stringent regulations, many projects have been forced to relocate overseas. Now, with a more favorable regulatory environment, capital and talent may return. However, we must also be aware that this is an interpretative notice, not congressional legislation. The SEC explicitly stated in the document that this interpretation serves as an important bridge for Congress to advance bipartisan legislation on market structures. The final, legally binding regulatory framework still depends on the congressional legislative process, such as the ongoing CLARITY Act. V. A Rational Perspective: Cold Thinking Behind the Positive News Amidst the excitement, several points deserve investors' attention: First, interpretative documents can be overturned. Although Atkins explicitly stated that this is what regulators should do: draw clear lines with clear terminology, this interpretation could still be modified or even repealed in the future due to changes in government or leadership. Second, the SEC has not relinquished its enforcement power. For assets explicitly classified as digital securities, and for fraud and market manipulation using these securities, the SEC's enforcement actions will likely be even more precise and severe. Third, congressional legislation is key. As Atkins stated, only Congress can ensure that regulation in this area is robust enough to withstand future challenges through comprehensive market structure legislation. We still need to closely monitor the progress of legislation such as the CLARITY Act. Fourth, the termination of investment contracts needs clear disclosure. Atkins emphasizes that project teams must clearly disclose their statements and commitments so that investors understand the bundle of rights they are purchasing. This means that the process of tokens losing their security attributes does not happen automatically, but requires project teams to proactively and transparently complete information disclosure. In conclusion, looking back at 2023, when Gensler compared the crypto market to the US stock market of the 1920s, saying it was full of fraudsters and con artists, the industry felt a deep chill. Now, Atkins, with a clear and interpretive notice, heralds the arrival of a new era. This is not the end of regulation, but the maturation of regulation. The SEC has finally moved from refusing to acknowledge reality to acknowledging and regulating it. Crypto assets are no longer stigmatized as natural securities, but have been incorporated into a rational classification framework. This is indeed a major boon for the industry. But the real test has just begun—how to develop compliantly under the new framework? How to secure more favorable terms in congressional legislation? How to truly achieve a balance between innovation and investor protection once regulations are clear? The spirit of Bitcoin is "Don't trust, verify!" We also need to maintain a verification mindset with this new policy—observing its implementation, the legislative process in Congress, and the market's true reaction. But at least, the crypto landscape is finally no longer all clouds.