The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) have issued new interpretive guidance that classifies digital assets into five categories: digital commodities, digital collectibles like NFTs, digital tools, stablecoins, and tokenized securities.
Alex Thorn, head of firmwide research at Galaxy, called the move the “final nail” in the coffin of former SEC Chair Gary Gensler’s regulatory stance. Unlike prior legislative rules requiring formal notice-and-comment procedures, this guidance is an interpretive rule-lacking the force of law but offering immediate clarity for the crypto industry.
Thorn emphasized that while the guidance provides 30 months of regulatory breathing room, long-term certainty depends on Congress passing the stalled CLARITY Act. Recent reports suggest a tentative White House-lawmaker deal may revive the bill, potentially including a ban on yield from passive stablecoin balances.