SEC redrawn crypto rules, quietly eases KYC pressure on Bitcoin, XRP, and Solana

The US SEC issued an interpretive release categorizing crypto assets into five groups: digital commodities, digital collectibles, digital tools, stablecoins, and digital securities. This move clarifies which crypto activities fall outside securities law, notably by classifying fungible assets linked to functional systems—like Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, Solana, Cardano, and Avalanche—as digital commodities, not securities. Crucially, this taxonomy avoids forcing developers and software providers into stringent KYC-heavy broker-dealer registration regimes that a broader securities classification would have necessitated. The SEC also provided comfort for proof-of-work and proof-of-stake protocol activities, and recognized digital tools (like ENS domain names) as functional assets rather than investment products. While the SEC's action does not supersede Bank Secrecy Act or AML obligations handled by FinCEN, privacy advocates view the narrower SEC perimeter as a significant win, creating a clearer argument for software-linked activity to exist outside the commission's core registration regime.

(Source：CryptoSlate)