Major chains press SEC on crypto rules

TLDR

Several leading blockchain projects are pushing the US SEC to rewrite its draft crypto rules to clearly separate digital commodities from securities and clarify staking and trading treatment.

1. Chainlink, Cardano, Hedera, Aptos, Avalanche and Stellar submitted a joint letter urging the SEC to explicitly classify digital commodities as non?securities and to clarify staking and secondary?market rules.
2. The comments target the SECs proposed Regulation Crypto Assets, which would add new fundraising exemptions and a safe harbor so some tokens can eventually exit securities treatment.
3. The SEC still has to revise, approve or withdraw the proposal, and critics warn any final rule could face court challenges, so regulatory uncertainty is not over yet.

Deep Dive

1. What Chains Are Asking For

A group of six blockchain organizations, including Chainlink Labs, the Cardano Foundation, Hedera, Aptos Labs, Ava Labs and the Stellar Development Foundation, urged the SEC to embed its digital commodity category in binding rule text and state that such assets are not themselves securities in its draft Regulation Crypto Assets framework. They argue that today the SEC acknowledges digital commodities conceptually, but only in preamble language, leaving developers unsure which securities rules apply in practice to their tokens and networks, especially for non?issuer activity like protocol use or liquidity provision. The same letter also asks for explicit clarity on how securities laws apply to staking, staking?receipt tokens and secondary?market trades on centralized and decentralized venues, so routine network participation is not accidentally treated as a securities offering.

2. Inside The SEC Proposal

The SECs draft Regulation Crypto Assets, published in August, would create two exemptions from normal securities registration for qualifying token offerings: one allowing up to 5 million dollars over four years, and another allowing up to 75 million dollars in a 12?month period, both with disclosure conditions. It also proposes a conditional safe harbor where a token tied to an investment contract can later exit securities treatment once the issuer completes or abandons its promised essential managerial efforts and files a transition report. Ripple backed this framework in a detailed comment letter, arguing that an investment contract can be a security without making the underlying token a security in every context and urging the SEC to end case?by?case enforcement in favor of clear rules. Trade groups like the Blockchain Association, Bitwise and Hyperliquid asked for higher fundraising caps, more protection for airdrops and clearer rules for secondary trading and onchain protocols, while some legal commentators urged the SEC to scrap the proposal entirely as beyond its authority.

3. What Comes Next For Crypto Users

The public comment period has closed, and the SEC now decides whether to narrow, expand or withdraw the proposal before any commission vote, with no fixed timeline and a real risk of litigation from opponents if rules are finalized. For developers and token holders, the key open questions are whether the final text will clearly shield digital commodities, set objective tests for when issuer obligations end, and give staking and DeFi protocols workable rules rather than shutting them down by ambiguity. Until that is known, US projects will likely continue structuring around overlapping SEC, CFTC and banking rules, and many may still prefer to launch or list outside the United States.

Conclusion

Major chains and crypto firms are trying to turn years of fragmented enforcement into a single rulebook that separates digital commodities from securities and defines paths to compliance. Whether the SEC accepts those changes, and whether the courts uphold any final rule, will shape how easily US users can access tokens on regulated venues and how much crypto innovation stays onshore versus moving abroad.