On March 18, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) jointly released a 68-page regulatory guidance on Tuesday, clearly stating that most digital assets are not securities, aiming to provide the market with a clearer regulatory framework.

In terms of asset classification, the SEC clearly identified four categories of crypto assets that are not securities: digital commodities, digital collectibles, digital utilities, and payment stablecoins as defined under the GENIUS Act. The only category of crypto assets still subject to securities laws is digital securities, which are tokenized forms of traditional securities. Regarding investment contract determination, the SEC has clarified the termination conditions for investment contracts, requiring project parties to provide clear and unambiguous disclosure of their committed core management activities. Once an investment contract terminates, the related crypto assets can be removed from the jurisdiction of securities laws.

Regarding exemption pathways, Atkins proposed three mechanisms: first, "startup exemption," allowing project parties to raise up to $5 million within four years; second, "funding exemption," allowing fundraising of up to $75 million within 12 months with required SEC disclosure filings; third, "investment contract safe harbor," providing clear non-securities standards for qualifying crypto assets. Atkins stated that the SEC plans to solicit public comments on the above rule proposals in the coming weeks and will propose rules with the Commodity Futures Commission to solicit public opinion. $BTC