Crypto market muted after SEC clarifies most tokens are non‑securities

The crypto market remained largely muted after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission clarified its framework for determining whether tokens qualify as securities. Bitcoin traded at $73,909, holding near the $74,000 level with no net movement over the daily period, while Ethereum, Solana, Dogecoin and Chainlink showed only minor gains.

The combined lack of volatility kept the total crypto market capitalization around $2.61 trillion. On Tuesday night the SEC issued a notice explaining how it would determine if a token is a security and how a non-security asset can be part of an investment contract under the Howey Test.

The agency stopped short of broadly classifying most cryptocurrencies as non-securities, but the updated taxonomy suggests many tokens may fall outside securities laws depending on structure, distribution and use case. The SEC also classified 16 major crypto assets as digital commodities, including Litecoin and Cardano, and SEC Chair Paul Atkins has proposed a crypto safe-harbor framework.

United States

sec, howey test, token classification, digital commodities, crypto market, market capitalization, bitcoin, ethereum, paul atkins, safe harbor