This week, the SEC issued an interpretation clarifying how federal securities laws apply to different crypto assets and transactions involving crypto assets. The CFTC joined the interpretation, which outlines a coherent token taxonomy – digital commodities, digital collectibles, digital tools, stablecoins, digital securities – and specifies that federal securities laws apply only to digital securities.
SEC Chairman Paul Atkins praised the interpretation for resolving a decade of uncertainty around crypto assets, most of which are not securities.
“This is what regulatory agencies are supposed to do: draw clear lines in clear terms,” said Atkins in an official announcement.
“Today’s joint agency action reflects a shared commitment to developing workable, harmonized regulations for the new frontier of finance,” added CFTC Chairman Michael Selig.
The guidance promotes a bipartisan effort to get a crypto market structure bill across the finish line.
During DC Blockchain Summit, Chainlink Labs’ General Counsel Ben Sherwin appeared live on The Rollup to unpack the significance for crypto assets like LINK, the native token underpinning Chainlink’s industry-leading oracle platform, which has facilitated over $28 trillion in onchain transaction value.
“This confirms unequivocally that LINK is a digital commodity,” he explained.
“It was a big step by the Commission. I laud them for doing it.”
Last year, Sherwin was appointed to the CFTC’s Digital Asset Markets Subcommittee, reflecting Chainlink’s ongoing work with policymakers to establish a global model for tokenization in the U.S. A 2025 White House Digital Asset Report included recommendations for CFTC and SEC jurisdiction and highlighted Chainlink’s key role in the digital asset economy.
Sherwin underscored the SEC’s new clarity as a step on the path toward market structure legislation.
“This is something that allows market certainty so that people can actually do business. It’s great for America and it’s great for our industry.”
Watch the full interview.