Regulators Act on White House Crypto Roadmap With Moves Toward Trading and Staking Rules
The SEC and CFTC took key steps this week to further crypto integration
Welcome to the Wednesday edition of the Crypto In America newsletter!
What you’ll read: Regulators are acting on White House recommendations, Jan van Eck shares insights on institutional crypto investing, and we cover some of this week’s top stories.
Regulators are wasting no time moving to implement provisions laid out in the White House Crypto Report released last week, which directed the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to immediately enable digital asset trading by providing clear rules on registration, custody, trading, and recordkeeping.
On Monday, the CFTC said it would allow trading of spot crypto asset contracts listed on futures exchanges registered with the agency, and asked for near-immediate feedback from stakeholders.
On Tuesday, the SEC issued new guidance on liquid staking, which allows users to deposit tokens to help secure proof-of-stake blockchains while receiving receipt tokens similar to a warehouse receipt that proves ownership, which they can use in other DeFi activities.
The key point: liquid staking providers don’t decide when or how tokens are staked. They simply act as agents, handling the technical process without managing assets like an investment fund would. In a staff statement, the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance said that customers who deposit tokens or run liquid staking services typically don’t need to register with the agency or file disclosures.
Currently, about $66 billion in total value is locked in liquid staking across various blockchains, according to public data from analytics platform DeFiLlama.
The SEC’s announcement follows a joint letter submitted last week by a group of crypto and traditional finance firms, including Jito Labs, Bitwise, Multicoin Capital, VanEck, and the Solana Policy Institute, urging the agency to allow liquid staking tokens in proposed Solana exchange-traded products.
“Bitwise wants investors to be able to benefit from staking in our ETPs,” Bitwise CEO Hunter Horsley told Crypto In America. “The new guidance from the SEC paves the path for liquid staking tokens to be a potential part of enabling that.”
“In Bitwise’s seven plus years in this space, the dialogue with the SEC has never been more constructive,” he added.
Rebecca Rettig, Chief Legal Officer of Jito Labs, called the guidance a “massive unlock” for proof-of-stake networks like Solana, where liquid staking is vital to network security.
“For the first time, the SEC has affirmed that well-structured liquid staking arrangements fall outside securities laws,” she said. “This removes a major legal barrier for ETF issuers aiming to include staking yield in their products and for sophisticated, yield-bearing financial instruments.”
The SEC’s statement is not a formal regulation issued through rulemaking, but it sends a strong signal that companies following the guidance are unlikely to face securities enforcement. That was not guaranteed under the Gary Gensler SEC during the Biden administration, when staking more broadly was often seen as falling under securities laws, leaving crypto firms uncertain about how to remain compliant.
In 2023, the SEC charged Coinbase for operating its staking-as-a-service program without proper registration, alleging violations of federal securities laws.
How Crypto ETFs Changed the Game: A Conversation with Jan van Eck
In this week’s episode of Crypto In America, we talk with Jan van Eck, CEO of Wall Street ETF powerhouse VanEck.
We break down the launch of the Bitcoin spot ETF, why the asset class is taking off, and the regulatory challenges still left to navigate.
Jan shares his take on the GENIUS Act and why he believes it is one of the most important pieces of legislation in U.S. financial history. He also discusses how institutional investors are approaching crypto after the FTX fallout and the ongoing debate over active versus passive crypto ETFs. We cover macro trends, stablecoins, and what’s next for crypto investing around the world.
Watch the episode on all platforms here.
Midweek Update
ICYMI. Here are some of the biggest stories so far this week:
The SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance has issued guidance stating that, in general, liquid staking activities and tokens are not considered securities.
Khurram Dara, a 36-year-old crypto lawyer, is preparing to seek the Republican nomination for New York Attorney General, setting up a potential challenge to Democratic incumbent Letitia James, 66. Read Crypto In America’s scoop here.
The jury in Roman Storm’s trial will resume deliberations this morning after telling the judge yesterday they had made significant progress.
The CFTC is launching an initiative to allow spot crypto trading on its regulated futures exchanges and is seeking public feedback.
The White House is reportedly preparing an executive order that would penalize banks for cutting off customers based on their political and business affiliations.
SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce emphasized the importance of protecting financial privacy and the right to self-custody in crypto.
Figure Technology Solutions, a blockchain lender run by SoFi co-founder Mike Cagney, confirmed it has confidentially filed draft IPO paperwork with the SEC.
Analysts at investment research firm Bernstein have called the SEC’s Project Crypto initiative the “boldest crypto vision ever” from a U.S. regulator, saying it will restore digital asset innovation in the U.S.
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