SEC Chair Paul Atkins has clarified that nonfungible tokens, or NFTs, generally do not qualify as securities under U.S. law. In a CNBC interview, Atkins emphasized that the agency’s framework distinguishes digital collectibles-like NFTs, baseball cards, or memes-from investment contracts, which require an expectation of profit from others' efforts.
"It’s an immutable purchase," Atkins said. "It’s not something like another asset where people are trading it."
Atkins also marked a strategic pivot by the SEC, moving away from enforcement-driven crypto regulation toward clearer, predictable rules. He warned the U.S. has fallen up to a decade behind in crypto innovation and called reversing that trend a top priority.
The agency now classifies four digital asset types as non-securities: digital commodities, digital tools, digital collectibles, and stablecoins.