On March 17, 2026, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) jointly issued “Applicability of the Federal Securities Laws to Certain Types of Crypto Assets and Related Transactions” (Release No. 33-11412, et al.), one of the most significant regulatory developments in the crypto industry in recent times. The document provides, for the first time, a clear classification framework dividing crypto assets into five categories, explicitly categorizing 16 major assets—including BTC, ETH, SOL, and XRP—as “digital commodities” (regulated by the CFTC, analogous to gold), no longer treating them as securities. Key takeaways: it ends the gray era of “regulation by enforcement,” offering developers, exchanges, and institutions a clear path forward; activities such as mining, staking, airdrops, and wrapped tokens generally do not constitute securities offerings; U.S. users can participate in airdrops normally without geographic restrictions. This marks a shift from ambiguous to rational regulation, objectively lowering compliance costs and stimulating innovation, though short-term price reactions have been limited; the long-term benefits include increased institutional inflows and enhanced U.S. competitiveness.