SEC Staff Issues FAQs on How Federal Securities Laws Apply to Crypto Assets

Taken together, these initiatives reflect the SEC’s broader effort to make the United States a more workable jurisdiction for digital asset businesses and encourage innovation and capital formation in the U.S. market.

On September 25, 2026, the staff of the Security and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Division of Corporation Finance issued frequently asked questions on the application of the federal securities laws to certain crypto assets and transactions involving them. The FAQs are meant to help market participants apply the commission’s March 17, 2026, Interpretive Release (Release No. 33-11412). The FAQs reflect the views of the staff only and do not have the force of law or create new obligations. They do, however, offer a useful look at how the staff is approaching these questions.

The FAQs are the latest step in an effort the SEC began in March to make the application of the federal securities laws to crypto assets clearer and more workable for market participants. The commission’s March Interpretive Release set out its framework for analyzing crypto assets and investment contracts; in August, the SEC proposed Regulation Crypto Assets, which would create tailored offering exemptions and a conditional safe harbor; and the new FAQs address practical questions arising under the March framework. Taken together, these initiatives reflect the SEC’s broader effort to make the United States a more workable jurisdiction for digital asset businesses and encourage innovation and capital formation in the U.S. market.