Six Blockchain Groups Ask SEC to Codify Digital-Commodity Status
Stellar, Hedera, Aptos, Ava Labs, Cardano and Chainlink seek binding rule text for digital-commodity status already outlined in the SEC’s March interpretation.
Key Notes
- Six blockchain groups seek digital-commodity definitions in the operative SEC rule text.
- XLM, HBAR, APT, AVAX, ADA and LINK already appear in the March interpretation.
- The joint comment requests changes to a proposal and does not announce new SEC approval.
Six blockchain organizations are asking the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to write its digital-commodity classification directly into Regulation Crypto Assets, giving an existing interpretation a more durable place in the proposed rules.
Stellar Development Foundation, Hedera, Aptos Labs, Ava Labs, Cardano Foundation and Chainlink Labs signed the joint comment. Chainlink’s head of policy, Taylor Barr, shared the four-page letter, which seeks amendments rather than announcing a new SEC decision.
Builders need lasting certainty.
— Taylor Barr (@taylorjbarr) October 20, 2026
Why the Location of the Definition Matters
The coalition says the digital-commodity framework appears in the proposal’s explanatory preamble but is missing from its operative provisions. It wants the definition and confirmation that these assets are not themselves securities added to Sections 228.100 and 228.101.
That distinction is about durability. The groups want the classification embedded in the rules market participants apply, rather than relying on explanatory language. Amending a substantive rule generally requires a formal rulemaking process; an interpretation does not create the same procedural hurdle.
The SEC’s proposed text defines a crypto asset and a covered investment contract, but its general definitions do not separately define a digital commodity. Regulation Crypto Assets remains a proposal, with October 20 listed as its comment deadline.
The Six Tokens Already Appear in the March Framework
The SEC’s March interpretation, issued March 17 with related CFTC guidance, already lists XLM, HBAR, APT, AVAX, ADA and LINK among digital-commodity examples. That assessment rests on their characteristics, terms and functions at the time.
Under that framework, a digital commodity derives its value from a functional crypto system and supply and demand, rather than an expectation of profits from someone else’s essential managerial efforts.
The asset and the transaction remain separate questions. A token that is not itself a security can still be offered or sold through an investment contract that falls under securities law. Commodity classification therefore does not automatically exempt every fundraising arrangement or sale involving it.
The March document is a Commission interpretation, not simply an informal staff comment. It nevertheless describes itself as an interpretive rule that does not create new legal obligations, explaining why the coalition wants further codification.
Secondary Trading and Safe-Harbor Filings
The letter also requests a presumption against investment-contract treatment for non-issuer secondary trades, absent outstanding issuer promises of essential managerial efforts. It seeks class-wide relief for identified digital commodities without individual Form TR filings.
The groups want the proposed Rule 400 safe harbor to remain voluntary, with neither using it nor declining it treated as an admission about an investment contract. They also ask the SEC to preserve the March classifications and the agencies’ respective authority.
These requests sit alongside parallel rulemaking at the CFTC. The joint letter does not itself change either regulator’s rules or establish that the SEC has accepted the suggested amendments.
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