In brief
- The SEC has clarified staking rules, excluding self-staking and custodial staking.
- Its corporate finance division emphasized the importance of retaining ownership of assets.
- Commissioner Caroline Crenshaw criticized the SEC guidance, calling the agency’s approach a “‘fake it ’till we make it'” outcome.
The SEC issued new guidance on crypto staking, confirming Thursday that most of the common staking activities aren’t subject to federal securities regulations, as long as specific conditions are met.
Protocol staking involves locking crypto assets that are “intrinsically linked to the programmatic functioning of a public, permissionless network,” the regulator wrote in its latest guidance on Thursday.
The same crypto assets could…
Jan 14 2026
