The SEC’s March 2026 crypto guidance doesn’t just tweak existing policy — it introduces a structured five-category taxonomy that, for the first time, gives named classifications to different types of crypto-assets and spells out how securities law applies to each. Here’s a breakdown of every category and what it means in practice.

1. Digital Commodities

The guidance defines a digital commodity as a crypto-asset that derives its value from the programmatic operation of a crypto system — and from supply and demand — rather than from the managerial efforts of an issuer or developer.

Digital commodities don’t convey economic rights like passive yield or profit-sharing. They’re not investment contracts. The SEC specifically names Bitcoin, Ether, XRP, and Solana as digital commodities under this framework.

This is significant for Ether in particular. The asset’s status has been debated for years given Ethereum’s origins in a centralized token sale. The guidance puts that debate to rest, at least as far as current SEC policy is concerned.

Regulatory implication: Not securities. CFTC territory.

2. Digital Collectibles

This category covers crypto-assets designed to be collected or used — representing artwork, music, videos, trading cards, in-game items, or digital references to memes and cultural moments. Meme coins fall here explicitly, characterized as assets acquired for artistic, entertainment, social, and cultural purposes.

The SEC’s reasoning: the value of collectibles doesn’t depend on anyone’s managerial efforts, so they don’t satisfy the Howey test for investment contracts.

Regulatory implication: Not securities. Though this won’t stop enforcement actions if fraud is involved.

3. Digital Tools

Digital tools are crypto-assets that perform a practical function — memberships, tickets, credentials, title instruments, identity badges. Their value comes from functional utility, not from a developer’s ongoing efforts.

Regulatory implication: Not securities, as long as the utility claim is genuine and not a cover for fundraising.

4. Stablecoins

The guidance treats stablecoins as their own category, with regulatory status depending on their characteristics.

Payment stablecoins issued by “permitted payment stablecoin issuers” under the GENIUS Act — enacted by Congress in July 2025 — are explicitly not securities by statute. Those issuers are also prohibited from paying interest on their stablecoins.

For stablecoins issued before the GENIUS Act’s effective date, the SEC will apply April 2025 staff guidance, which concluded that non-yielding stablecoins with certain characteristics are not securities.

Other stablecoins — particularly those that do pay yield — remain subject to a facts-and-circumstances analysis.

Regulatory implication: Depends on the structure. GENIUS Act issuers are clear. Everything else requires analysis.

5. Digital Securities

The simplest category: tokenized versions of instruments already enumerated in the statutory definition of “security” — stocks, bonds, and similar instruments recorded on a blockchain.

Putting a stock on a blockchain doesn’t change what it is. Digital securities are securities.

Regulatory implication: Full securities law compliance required.

The Important Caveat

The guidance explicitly acknowledges that the five categories aren’t exhaustive or mutually exclusive. Some assets may not fit any category; others may fit more than one. The taxonomy is a framework, not a final answer for every token in existence.

Source: Congressional Research Service Legal Sidebar LSB11415, “SEC Issues Crypto Guidance as Congress Considers Market-Structure Legislation,” April 3, 2026.