SEC Clarity and Coinbase Partnership Bolster Staking and Rewards
The SEC Division of Corporation Finance has issued two no-action letters in support of blockchain token issuers. The first letter, dated September 29, 2025, states that the division will not recommend enforcement against a token issuer if its programmatic token transfers follow specific rules. These rules suggest that token flows for provider payments and computation payments do not satisfy the Howey test. This decision is significant because it provides regulatory clarity for programmatic rewards and staking.
The second no-action letter, also dated September 30, 2025, relates to the use of state trust companies as crypto custodians. These developments provide a compliance lane for firms that structure their activity carefully. Commissioner Hester M. Peirce supported this decision, noting that the economic reality of such projects differs from capital-raising transactions.
Separately, Figment has expanded its Proof-of-Stake access via Coinbase Prime. This integration enables over $2 billion in staked assets since it began in early 2024. The network support includes Ethereum, Solana, Sui, Cardano, Cosmos, and Polkadot, among others.
The Ethereum Pectra upgrade, which activated in May 2025, introduced compounding validators that allow up to 2,048 ETH per validator and automatically compound rewards. This feature helps institutions with large ETH positions avoid the 32 ETH limit found in legacy validators.