SEC, CFTC Move to Define Which Digital Assets Are Securities

The Securities and Exchange Commission issued a long-awaited “token taxonomy” on Tuesday, a key step forward laying out which types of digital assets it deems to be securities.

The guidance carves out payment stablecoins, digital collectives and digital commodities as non-securities. It also clarifies how federal securities laws apply to protocol mining, staking and crypto airdrops, the SEC said in a memo.

Digital securities, or traditional securities that are tokenized, are subject to SEC rules and regulations, according to the guidance.

Paul Atkins speaks during the DC Blockchain Summit in Washington on March 17.

Photographer: Al Drago/Bloomberg

“We’re not the securities and everything commission anymore,” Chairman Paul Atkins said at the Digital Chamber’s conference ...