SEC Greenlights Staked ETH Tokens as 'Digital Tools'

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has issued new guidance on staked Ethereum, clarifying that tokens received from staking are not securities as long as they work purely as receipts.

The agency's Division of Corporation Finance published the guidance on Friday, stating that a token is a 'digital tool' when the coin behind it is a digital commodity. Ether (ETH) was named one of 16 digital commodities in a March 17 interpretation by the SEC and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).

The guidance comes after a three-year period during which staking services were targeted by the SEC, including a $30 million settlement with Kraken in February 2023. The agency had warned that crypto intermediaries needed to provide proper disclosures and safeguards when offering investment contracts.