{"id":23667,"date":"2026-03-20T07:48:22","date_gmt":"2026-03-20T07:48:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nft.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/20\/sec-cftc-declare-ethereum-solana-and-14-cryptos-not-securities-nft-plazas\/"},"modified":"2026-03-20T07:48:22","modified_gmt":"2026-03-20T07:48:22","slug":"sec-cftc-declare-ethereum-solana-and-14-cryptos-not-securities-nft-plazas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nft.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/20\/sec-cftc-declare-ethereum-solana-and-14-cryptos-not-securities-nft-plazas\/","title":{"rendered":"SEC, CFTC Declare Ethereum, Solana and 14 Cryptos Not Securities – NFT Plazas"},"content":{"rendered":"

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After more than a decade of debate, enforcement actions, and industry lobbying, U.S. regulators have taken a decisive step toward clarifying how cryptocurrencies fit into federal law. On March 17, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) jointly issued a sweeping 68-page interpretive release that formally classifies a broad range of crypto assets \u2013 including some of the industry\u2019s most prominent tokens \u2013 as <\/span>digital commodities<\/b>, not securities.<\/span><\/p>\n

The move marks a pivotal turning point for the digital asset sector, which has long argued that existing securities laws, written nearly a century ago, were ill-suited to govern decentralized blockchain-based systems.<\/span><\/p>\n

A Clear Line at Last<\/span><\/h2>\n

For the first time, U.S. regulators have explicitly named 16 major cryptocurrencies as digital commodities under federal law. The list includes:<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  • Bitcoin<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Ether<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Solana<\/span><\/li>\n
  • XRP<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Dogecoin<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Cardano<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Avalanche<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Chainlink<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Polkadot<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Hedera<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Litecoin<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Bitcoin Cash<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Shiba Inu<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Stellar<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Tezos<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Aptos<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    By designating these assets as commodities, the agencies have effectively removed them from the direct scope of federal securities regulation \u2013 a development widely celebrated across the crypto industry.<\/span><\/p>\n

    \u201cThis is of profound importance,\u201d said Miller Whitehouse-Levine, CEO of the Solana Policy Institute. \u201cIt\u2019s what we\u2019ve been asking for from the agency for 10 years.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

    A New Taxonomy for Crypto<\/span><\/h2>\n

    At the heart of the release is a structured framework that organizes all crypto assets into <\/span>five distinct categories<\/b>:<\/span><\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Digital commodities<\/b><\/li>\n
    2. Digital collectibles<\/b><\/li>\n
    3. Digital tools<\/b><\/li>\n
    4. Stablecoins<\/b><\/li>\n
    5. Digital securities<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Only the final category \u2013 digital securities \u2013 falls under traditional SEC oversight.<\/span><\/p>\n

      The first three categories are explicitly defined as <\/span>non-securities<\/b>, regardless of how they are issued or distributed. Stablecoins, while treated separately, are also excluded from securities classification under this interpretation.<\/span><\/p>\n

      A <\/span>digital commodity<\/b>, according to the document, is a crypto asset whose value is derived from the <\/span>programmatic operation of a functional blockchain system<\/b> and broader market supply-and-demand dynamics \u2013 not from the managerial efforts of a centralized issuer.<\/span><\/p>\n

      This definition directly addresses one of the most contentious issues in crypto regulation: whether tokens rely on the efforts of others to generate profits, a key component of the <\/span>Howey Test<\/b>, the legal standard used to determine whether an asset qualifies as a security.<\/span><\/p>\n

      Resolving Longstanding Uncertainty<\/span><\/h2>\n

      Beyond classification, the release tackles several core activities that have long existed in regulatory gray areas.<\/span><\/p>\n

      Protocol mining<\/b>, the computational work performed by validators on proof-of-work networks like Bitcoin, is now classified as a <\/span>ministerial activity<\/b>, not a securities transaction.<\/span><\/p>\n

      Similarly, <\/span>staking<\/b> on proof-of-stake networks \u2013 across all major models \u2013 receives the same treatment. This includes:<\/span><\/p>\n