SEC Taxonomy Classifies Bitcoin, Ether as Commodities
The SEC released a 68-page guidance document creating five distinct crypto asset categories, with a clear jurisdictional split between the SEC and CFTC. The move provides the first comprehensive regulatory clarity for major cryptocurrencies.
Key Takeaway
Major coins now have regulatory clarity, but without congressional action the framework could disappear after elections.
The SEC published a 68-page taxonomy Tuesday that sorts crypto assets into five categories: digital commodities, digital collectibles, digital tools, payment stablecoins, and tokenized securities.
Bitcoin, Ether, Solana, XRP, Doge, and other major cryptocurrencies fall under digital commodities. Only tokenized securities automatically come under SEC purview. SEC Chair Paul Atkins said Congress would be needed to make the framework permanent.
CFTC Chair Mike Selig appeared at an industry conference in Washington this week and said the guidance would help unlock the full promise of crypto innovations. He noted that for too long, the two agencies were unable to work together on basic things like definitions and interpretations.
Digital Chamber Head of Crypto Advocacy Cody Carbone called it as close to perfect as he could have imagined. He said that if a company wants to issue a token in the United States now, it knows exactly who its regulator is and what it needs to do to be properly regulated.
Etherealize General Counsel Steve Yelderman said people need to have lived through the Gensler years to appreciate how transformative the guidance is. He was litigating at Coinbase against the SEC under former Chair Gary Gensler, requesting guidance. The new document gives clear examples of how an investment contract can end, something the prior SEC struggled to articulate.
Carbone warned that without congressional action to codify the framework through the pending Clarity Act, future administrations could reverse course. Senators are racing to finalize key provisions of the bill that would permanently clarify when crypto assets fall under SEC versus CFTC jurisdiction by the end of Q2 2026.
This article was written based on reporting from Dlnews.
