SEC Declares Bitcoin, Ethereum, and 15 Other Crypto Assets Are Not Securities

SEC classifies Bitcoin, Ethereum and 15+ crypto assets as digital commodities in historic interpretive release, clearing regulatory uncertainty.

SEC Declares Bitcoin, Ethereum, and 15 Other Crypto Assets Are Not Securities SEC classifies Bitcoin, Ethereum and 15+ crypto assets as digital commodities in historic interpretive release, clearing regulatory uncertainty. Aaron Rafferty March 22, 2026 Key Takeaways: The SEC's Interpretive Release 33-11412 classifies Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and 15 other crypto assets as digital commodities, not securities. Digital tools such as memberships, credentials, and identity badges are also excluded from securities classification under the new framework. The CFTC issued its first non-custodial derivatives no-action relief to Phantom wallet the same week, while Senator Lummis predicted the CLARITY Act will reach a Senate Banking Committee markup in April. The Securities and Exchange Commission published Interpretive Release 33-11412, creating a formal classification framework that separates crypto assets into five categories and removes the largest tokens from securities enforcement. Digital commodities, defined as crypto assets intrinsically linked to the programmatic operation of a functional system, are explicitly not securities. The SEC named 17 tokens in this category: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, Cardano, Chainlink, Dogecoin, Shiba Inu, Polkadot, Avalanche, Aptos, Stellar, Litecoin, Bitcoin Cash, Hedera, Tezos, XRP, and others. Digital collectibles (artwork, in-game items, music), digital tools (memberships, tickets, credentials, identity badges), and GENIUS Act stablecoins also fall outside securities law. Only "digital securities," meaning tokenized versions of traditional financial instruments, remain under SEC jurisdiction. The same week, the CFTC granted Phantom wallet its first non-custodial derivatives no-action relief. Phantom can now connect users directly to