The US SEC issued the latest guidance: Liquidity pledge is not regulated by securities laws

PANews reported on August 6th that, according to The Block, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) stated in its latest guidance that certain liquidity staking activities do not involve securities, and those engaging in liquidity staking activities do not need to register with the agency under securities laws. Liquidity pledgers that may not be subject to securities laws include Lido, Marinade Finance, JitoSOL, and Stakewise. The SEC pointed out that the issuance and sale of pledge receipt tokens in certain manners and circumstances do not constitute the issuance and sale of securities, unless the deposited crypto assets are part of an investment contract. This is particularly applicable to staking cryptocurrencies through software protocols or service providers, and then obtaining "liquidity pledge receipt tokens" to prove the pledger's ownership of the pledged crypto assets and any income generated.

Some experts believe this guidance could prompt the SEC to approve staking in proposed spot Ethereum ETFs, as liquid staking tokens could help manage internal liquidity within ETFs, a concern previously raised by the SEC. Furthermore, the announcement also has significant implications for receipt tokens like cross-chain bridges, leading some companies to seek amendments to listed Ethereum ETFs to allow for staking.