XRP Officially Recognized as Non-Security in New SEC Guidance

Ripple and its community have finally received the ultimate validation. 

The Ripple-linked XRP cryptocurrency has been categorized as a digital commodity, according to a historic joint interpretation issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) on March 17. The token has now definitely shed the “security” label that would plague it for years. 

Stuart Alderoty, Ripple’s Chief Legal Officer, immediately took to X (formerly Twitter) to celebrate the milestone. He heaped praise on the Crypto Task Force for delivering the clarity the market has long awaited.

“We always knew XRP wasn’t a security – and now the @SECGov has made clear what it is: a digital commodity,” Alderoty stated.

The end of “regulation by enforcement” era

This, of course, is a huge departure from the SEC’s previous approach to digital assets. 

SEC Chairman Paul S. Atkins did not mince words regarding the massive policy change. He has clarified that most crypto assets are not themselves securities.

The joint guidance establishes a coherent “token taxonomy” in order to clear up confusion. Federal regulators will now categorize digital assets into specific buckets to determine which agency holds jurisdiction. The new categories include digital collectibles, digital tools, and stablecoins.

Crucially, the guidance also addresses the lifecycle of an asset. It specifically describes how a “non-security crypto asset” might temporarily become subject to an investment contract, and how that contract can legally come to an end.

On top of that, the document finally provides “rational rules of the road” for everyday decentralized network activities. The interpretation formally clarifies the application of federal securities laws to protocol mining, staking, airdrops, and the wrapping of non-security assets.

CFTC Chairman Michael S. Selig praised the joint effort, statiting that “builders, innovators, and entrepreneurs” had to wait for years in order to obtain clarity.