The SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance issued a staff statement on liquid staking, affirming that under defined conditions, liquid staking activities and associated receipt tokens are not securities. The guidance applies to nonbinding internal commentary, not formal rulemaking, and stresses that deviation from the specified structure could alter regulatory treatment.
Industry executives welcomed the statement as a positive step for decentralized finance and institutional adoption, noting that it provides clarity for the issuance of staking receipt tokens by protocol providers. However, the guidance is limited in scope, focusing on token minting, issuance, and redemption, and does not cover ancillary services like cross-chain staking or restaking protocols.
Critics highlight that the statement sidesteps crucial issues such as the tax treatment of staking rewards and the impact of grantor trust tax rules on integrating liquid staking into exchange-traded products. Without formal Commission approval, future administrations could modify or rescind the guidance.
The guidance underscores the SEC’s evolving approach to crypto regulation under new leadership, balancing a need for investor protections with support for innovation. Market participants are urged to monitor legislative developments and engage with policymakers to address remaining regulatory gaps in liquid staking and related DeFi frameworks.
The staff statement represents an incremental advance in regulatory clarity but leaves foundational questions unresolved, indicating that further legislative and formal rulemaking efforts will be necessary to fully integrate staking services into the U.S. financial system.⚖️
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