6-8-2025 – The Securities and Exchange Commission issued guidance confirming that certain liquid staking receipt tokens may fall outside federal securities definitions, providing regulatory clarity for protocols offering tokenized staking services to U.S. users.
The staff statement from the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance addressed tokens that represent ownership of staked assets and rewards, explaining they may not constitute securities under the Securities Act of 1933 or Exchange Act of 1934 depending on their specific structure. The guidance removes significant legal uncertainty for decentralized finance protocols and staking service providers who have relied on tokenized models without clear regulatory framework.
The clarification forms part of the SEC’s Project Crypto initiative under Chair Paul Atkins, aimed at providing clearer regulatory treatment for emerging crypto technologies. While the agency emphasized that determinations remain fact-specific to individual cases, the guidance offers protocols a pathway to operate compliant liquid staking products without securities registration requirements.
The development has drawn attention from DeFi developers and institutional staking providers who previously faced potential enforcement risk. Industry observers expect the guidance to encourage broader adoption of liquid staking mechanisms as protocols gain confidence in their regulatory standing. Meanwhile, institutional crypto adoption continues expanding, with Michigan’s pension fund recently confirming a $10.7 million Bitcoin ETF allocation.
