The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) will officially implement a new set of joint guidance on crypto assets starting March 23, 2026. According to documents published in the Federal Register, this is an agency-level document in the form of a “final rule; interpretation; guidance,” issued jointly by both agencies, and effective immediately upon its official publication.
The core of the document clarifies how federal securities laws apply to crypto assets and related transactions, and states that the CFTC will enforce the Commodity Exchange Act in a manner consistent with the SEC's interpretation. The document also affirms that it does not alter the existing jurisdiction of the SEC or CFTC, but is XEM as a significant step toward reducing the gray area in the US crypto market's oversight.
One notable point is that the new guidance establishes a classification framework comprising five categories of crypto assets : digital commodities, digital collectibles, digital tools, stablecoins, and digital securities. Simultaneously, this document replaces the “Framework for 'Investment Contract' Analysis of Digital Assets” issued by SEC staff in 2019, indicating a shift in the US from staff-level guidance to a more formal and stable document at the committee level.
Regarding common industry activities, the document dedicates sections to addressing mining, Staking, and Airdrop. With regard to Protocol Mining and Protocol Staking , the SEC states that these activities do not constitute securities offerings or transactions, and therefore do not require registration under the Securities Act simply because of the mining or Staking activity itself. Airdrop, in particular, are analyzed in terms of their application to Token distributions where recipients do not provide money, goods, services, or any other form of exchange for the Token being Airdrop.
