Blockchain groups press SEC on staking rules as FCA opens DeFi consultations

The SEC has been asked by a total of six blockchain organizations to categorize digital commodities as non-securities. Also, they’ve asked the SEC to make the rules for staking and secondary trading clear. 

This comes even as the SEC’s comment period ended and two DeFi consultations were opened by the UK’s FCA.

Six networks want ‘digital commodity’ embedded into the rules 

The advice was contained in a joint letter, signed by Chainlink Labs, the Cardano Foundation, Hedera, Aptos Labs, Ava Labs and the Stellar Development Foundation. 

The six organizations are asking for one major thing; they want the SEC to change the digital commodity classification from interpretive guidance to the tenets of the proposed Regulation Crypto Assets framework. 

The six organizations want the SEC to make the classification of digital commodities to be as clear as possible. They argue that the lack of clarity means developers and market participants would stay guessing as to whether the securities laws apply to them.

Staking and secondary trades top the list of requests 

The letter doesn’t just stop at classification of digital commodities. It also asks for clearer rules on how securities law affects secondary-market trades of digital assets, staking, and other activities linked to decentralized networks. 

This is not the first time the SEC has been queried. In a joint publication with the CFTC in March, the SEC categorized crypto assets into five groups. The groups are: digital commodities, digital collectibles, digital tools, stablecoins and digital securities. 

The document included sections on “protocol mining” and “protocol staking,” as well as the treatment of staking receipt tokens. The six organizations want those ideas to be incorporated into the legal framework, to provide uniform interpretations and avoid confusion.  

Wall Street and DeFi groups filed opposing comments

The framework proposed by the SEC has drawn over 100 comments in the two months since it was introduced in August. Crypto firms, trade bodies and Wall Street institutions all chimed in with their opinions. 

The proposal aims to create an exemption for token offerings when it comes to registration. Startup exemptions would apply to offerings of up to $5 million, while fundraising exemptions cover up to $75 million over 12 months. 

The draft drew support from the Hyperliquid Policy Center even though HPC argued for a change in the handling of airdrops. HPC made this claim because it believes a giveaway with no consideration does not qualify to be a securities transaction. 

The Alternative Investment Management Association asked for revisions clarifying investors’ legal rights, while the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association focused on the separate five-year “innovation exemption” that became effective in September and opened the door to onchain trading of tokenized stocks. 

FCA puts DeFi firms on notice with two consultations

The United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has also made regulatory moves, opening two consultations on October 21, 2026. 

The first consultation, GC26/7, touches on guidance for regulated firms that make use of decentralized finance, with a particular focus on operational resilience, financial crime and the Money Laundering Regulations. 

The second one, CP26/36, places particular attention on recent exclusions from cryptoasset regulation as a result of legislative changes.

From the FCA’s standpoint, it does not see the DeFi paper as creating new policy; rather, it sees it as clarifying current rules and regulations. The two consultations are set to expire on November 18, 2026, with a plan for final guidance set for January next year. 

The wider regime brought in by the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Cryptoassets) Regulations 2026 takes effect on October 25, 2027; firms could begin applying on September 30, 2026, and have until February 28, 2027, to file.