The US Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission released joint guidance on March 17, 2026. This document classifies 16 major digital assets as digital commodities, effectively removing them from the securities category.
The list of digital commodities includes Bitcoin, Ether, Solana, Stellar, Tezos, and XRP. The guidance categorizes digital assets into five groups: digital commodities, digital collectibles, digital tools, stablecoins, and digital securities.
The regulators clarified their interpretation of existing laws regarding mining and staking activities. For XRP, the classification follows the conclusion of legal proceedings in August 2025, confirming that its programmatic sales are not securities transactions.
Assets classified as digital commodities remain under the CFTC's jurisdiction regarding anti-fraud and anti-manipulation rules in spot markets. Regulators retain their authority to investigate fraudulent activities across the sector.
On October 5, 2026, CFTC Chairman Michael S. Selig announced plans to introduce new regulations for leveraged retail trading of digital assets. These proposals may establish frameworks known as Regulation CTX and Regulation CAM.
