U.S. SEC: Liquid Staking is Not Within the Scope of Securities Law Regulation

ChainCatcher news, according to The Block, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) stated in its latest guidance that certain liquid staking activities do not involve securities, and individuals engaging in liquid staking activities are not required to register with the agency under securities laws. Liquid staking parties 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 staking receipt tokens in specific ways and circumstances do not constitute the issuance and sale of securities, unless the deposit of crypto assets is part of an investment contract. This particularly applies to staking cryptocurrency through software protocols or service providers, and then receiving "liquid staking receipt tokens" to prove the staker's ownership of the staked crypto assets and any yields generated.

Some experts believe that this guidance may prompt the SEC to approve the proposed spot Ethereum ETF's staking operations, as liquid staking tokens can help manage liquidity within the ETF, which had previously been a concern for the SEC. Additionally, this statement has significant implications for receipt tokens like cross-chain bridging, as some companies are seeking to modify the listing of Ethereum ETFs to allow staking.