The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has sent a regulatory interpretation to the White House that could change how federal securities laws are applied to certain cryptocurrencies. The filing, delivered to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), offers a commission-level interpretation on “the application of the federal securities laws to certain types of crypto assets and certain transactions involving crypto assets,” and frames a token taxonomy intended to clarify which tokens may be treated as securities.
As an interpretive statement from the full commission, the guidance would carry more weight than staff-level guidance but would not follow the formal rulemaking process that requires public notice and comment. SEC Chair Paul Atkins and Commissioner Hester Peirce said at ETHDenver that the agency is seeking to clarify how tokenized securities fit within existing securities law.
At the time the proposal was reported, it was under review by the White House office. Separately, officials in the Trump administration have held meetings in 2026 related to a crypto market structure bill moving through the Senate; if enacted, that legislation could substantially affect how the SEC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission oversee digital assets.
The CFTC has also submitted guidance to the White House, in its case on prediction markets. CFTC Chair Michael Selig has asserted that the commission has exclusive jurisdiction over those markets.
Both agencies are operating without full, bipartisan commissions. The SEC currently lists three commissioners — Paul Atkins, Hester Peirce and Mark Uyeda — and the CFTC is led by a single commissioner, Michael Selig. All four are Republicans; no Democratic commissioners are in place, and President Donald Trump has not publicly announced plans to nominate additional commissioners for either agency.
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