The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has submitted a proposal to the White House outlining a “token taxonomy” aimed at clarifying how federal securities laws apply to certain cryptocurrency assets.
The submission, sent Tuesday to the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, proposed an official commission interpretation on how securities laws should apply to specific crypto tokens and transactions.
The guidance is intended to determine which digital assets may qualify as securities under the SEC’s jurisdiction and could influence future enforcement actions across the crypto sector.
Unlike formal rulemaking, which requires public consultation and comment periods, interpretative guidance can be adopted more quickly and carries greater authority than staff-level statements.
SEC Chair Paul Atkins and Commissioner Hester Peirce previously indicated the agency wanted to clarify how tokenised securities fit within existing U.S. securities laws.
The proposal remains under review by the White House as lawmakers debate a broader crypto market structure bill in the U.S. Senate that could reshape regulatory oversight between the SEC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
Both regulators are currently operating with fewer commissioners than usual, with the SEC led by three members and the CFTC by only one commissioner.