SEC and CFTC classify NFTs as digital collectibles outside securities rules in joint guidance

The U.S. SEC and CFTC issued joint interpretive guidance on March 17 categorizing NFTs as "digital collectibles" rather than securities, as part of a five-category token taxonomy. The framework lists digital commodities such as BTC, ETH, SOL, XRP, ADA and LINK; digital collectibles including NFTs and memecoins; digital tools such as utility and access tokens; payment stablecoins under the GENIUS Act; and digital securities like tokenized stocks and bonds as the only class under SEC jurisdiction. NFTs linked to art, music, gaming items, memes and other cultural works are explicitly outside securities law, and activities such as staking, mining and airdrops are also treated as cleared. SEC Chair Atkins stated "We're not the Securities and Everything Commission," noting the 68-page guidance aims to address a decade of regulatory uncertainty.