TechFlow news, August 6 — According to The Block, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) stated in its latest guidance that certain liquid staking activities fall outside the scope of securities regulation, meaning participants are not required to register with the SEC.
The guidance indicates that unless the staked crypto asset itself constitutes or is subject to an investment contract, the issuance and sale of staking receipt tokens do not qualify as securities under the Securities Act and the Exchange Act. This ruling could impact liquid staking service providers such as Lido, Marinade Finance, JitoSOL, and Stakewise.
SEC Chair Paul Atkins said the move marks a significant step in clarifying the regulatory boundaries for crypto assets and represents one of the first outcomes of the agency's "Project Crypto" initiative. Industry insiders believe this guidance may help advance the approval process for spot Ethereum ETFs, particularly regarding staking functionality.
