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On 2 June 2025, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (US SEC) appointed Natalia Díez Riggin as the Senior Advisor and Director of its Office of Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs. Ms. Riggin had been serving as Acting Director since January 2025 and will now permanently lead the US SEC’s outreach and liaison efforts with Congress, federal departments, and state governments. Ms. Riggin brings legislative experience, having most recently served as a senior professional staff member on the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs for Chairman Tim Scott of South Carolina. She has also held positions as deputy legislative director for U.S. Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana and staff director for the Senate Banking Committee’s Economic Policy Subcommittee. Earlier roles included serving as policy aide to U.S. Senators Mike Enzi of Wyoming and Mark Kirk of Illinois. A graduate of the University of Illinois Chicago, Ms. Riggin holds a Bachelor of...

On 2 June 2025, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (US SEC) published an Order instituting proceedings to determine whether to approve or disapprove a proposed rule change filed by Cboe BZX Exchange, Inc. The proposed rule change seeks to amend the terms governing the listing and trading of the WisdomTree Bitcoin Fund under BZX Rule 14.11(e)(4), to allow the fund to conduct in-kind creations and redemptions of bitcoin. The proposed rule change was originally submitted by Cboe BZX Exchange, Inc. on 20 February 2025, pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the United States Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and United States SEC Rule 19b-4. The US SEC published the proposal for public comment in the Federal Register on 5 March 2025. On 14 April 2025, the US SEC extended the deadline to decide on the proposal until 3 June 2025. As of 02 June 2025, the US SEC on 2 June 2025, instituted proceedings under Section 19(b)(2)(B) of the United States Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to...

On 2 June 2025, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (US SEC) published an Order instituting proceedings to determine whether to approve or disapprove a proposed rule change submitted by Cboe BZX Exchange, Inc. The proposal seeks to amend the listing terms of the VanEck Bitcoin Trust and the VanEck Ethereum Trust to allow in-kind creations and redemptions under BZX Rule 14.11(e)(4), which governs commodity-based trust shares. The proposed rule change was filed by the exchange on 19 February 2025 under Section 19(b)(1) of the United States Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and United States SEC Rule 19b-4. It was published in the Federal Register on 5 March 2025. The US SEC initially extended the decision timeline to 3 June 2025, and has now opened formal proceedings under Section 19(b)(2)(B) of the same Act to allow for further analysis. According to the proposal, the exchange intends to amend the operational mechanics of the VanEck Bitcoin Trust and VanEck Ethereum...

On 29 May 2025, Commissioner Caroline A. Crenshaw of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (US SEC) issued a dissenting statement titled “Stake it Till You Make It?” criticising the contemporaneous statement issued by the US SEC Division of Corporation Finance titled “Statement on Certain Protocol Staking Activities” stating that certain protocol staking arrangements fall outside the scope of US federal securities laws. Crenshaw rebukes this staff position as legally flawed, inconsistent with SEC v. W.J. Howey Co. jurisprudence, and out of step with recent federal court decisions that upheld staking-as-a-service models as investment contracts. There is continuing legal uncertainty surrounding crypto staking models and Commissioner Caroline A. Crenshaw has called for substantive rulemaking over informal carve-outs. Crypto entities must treat this dissent as a judicially reinforced counterweight to staff guidance statement provided earlier. Business models that involve...

On 29 May 2025, Commissioner Hester M. Peirce of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (US SEC) issued a public statement titled “Providing Security is not a ‘Security’” in support of the earlier statement released by the US SEC Division of Corporation Finance titled “Statement on Certain Protocol Staking Activities” regarding the application of US federal securities laws to protocol staking. Commissioner Peirce welcomed the US SEC Division of Corporation Finance’s clarification that staking certain crypto assets on proof-of-stake (PoS) or delegated PoS networks, whether by individuals or through non-custodial or custodial third-party providers, does not constitute a securities transaction when conducted within the factual framework outlined in the staff statement. Commissioner Peirce stated that prior regulatory uncertainty had discouraged American participation in staking, which in turn affected the decentralisation and operational integrity of PoS blockchain...

On 28 May 2025, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (US SEC) published Notice of Designation of a Longer Period for US SEC Action on a Proposed Rule Change to List and Trade Shares of Grayscale Avalanche Trust (AVAX) under Nasdaq Rule 5711(d) (Commodity-Based Trust Shares) and thereby announced an extension of its deadline of 15 July 2025 to decide on a proposed rule change submitted by The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC. The rule change seeks approval to list and trade shares of the Grayscale Avalanche Trust (AVAX) under Nasdaq Rule 5711(d), a provision governing the listing of commodity-based trust shares. The US SEC has designated 15 July 2025 as the new date by which it must either approve, disapprove, or initiate proceedings to disapprove the proposal. The Grayscale Avalanche Trust (AVAX) is a commodity-based trust intended to offer investors regulated exposure to Avalanche (AVAX), a Layer 1 proof-of-stake digital asset. While the US SEC’s release does not describe the...

On 29 May 2025, the Division of Corporation Finance of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (US SEC) issued an interpretive statement titled “Statement on Certain Protocol Staking Activities.” This statement provides the US SEC Division of Corporation Finance’s views on whether specific staking arrangements on public, permissionless networks that use proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus mechanisms involve the offer or sale of securities under the United States Securities Act of 1933 and the United States Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The analysis applies the legal test established in SEC v. W.J. Howey Co. (1946) to self-staking, third-party delegated staking, and custodial staking models involving crypto assets that are integral to the operation of PoS networks—referred to as “Covered Crypto Assets.” The US SEC Division of Corporation Finance concluded that when staking activities are merely administrative or ministerial and do not depend on the entrepreneurial or...

On 28 May 2025, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (US SEC) published a Notice of Designation of Longer Period for further action on proceedings to determine whether to approve or disapprove a proposed rule change to list and trade shares of the bitwise 10 crypto index fund under proposed nyse arca rule 8.800-e (commodity- and/or digital asset-based investment interests) and announced that it has extended the review period for a proposed rule change by NYSE Arca, Inc. to list and trade shares of the Bitwise 10 Crypto Index Fund. The final decision has now been deferred to 31 July 2025. Now US SEC has more time to evaluate the legal, regulatory, and market impact of this landmark crypto-index ETF. The proposal filed by NYSE Arca on 14 November 2024 seeks approval to list a crypto-based investment product under the newly proposed NYSE Arca Rule 8.800-E, which provides a framework for commodity- and digital asset-based investment interests. The Bitwise 10 Crypto Index...

On 28 May 2025, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (US SEC) published an order instituting proceedings to determine whether to approve or disapprove a proposed rule change to amend the grayscale ethereum trust etf and grayscale ethereum mini trust etf to permit staking of the ether held by the trusts, which aims to amend the listing conditions for the Grayscale Ethereum Trust ETF and the Grayscale Ethereum Mini Trust ETF to allow staking of Ether held by the Trusts. The proposal aims to integrate Ethereum’s Proof-of-Stake (PoS) mechanism into a regulated exchange-traded product structure, which raises novel legal and policy questions under federal securities law. The proposed rule change, filed on 14 February 2025, seeks approval to amend the rules governing the listing and trading of shares of the Trusts under NYSE Arca Rule 8.201-E, which governs commodity-based trust shares. The amendment would permit the Trusts to stake the Ether they hold in the Ethereum...

On 28 May 2025, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (US SEC), through its Crypto Task Force, announced the full agenda and panelist list for the upcoming roundtable titled “DeFi and the American Spirit," to be held on 9 June 2025 from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Eastern time (ET) at the US SEC Headquarters, 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. The event will be open to the public and webcast live on the official website of US SEC www.sec.gov. The roundtable is a part of the US SEC’s ongoing efforts to foster dialogue on the regulatory implications of Decentralised Finance (DeFi). The event will open with opening remarks by Richard B. Gabbert (Chief of Staff, US Crypto Task Force), US SEC Chairman Paul S. Atkins, and US SEC Commissioners Caroline A. Crenshaw, Mark T. Uyeda, and Hester M. Peirce. From 1:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m., a moderated roundtable discussion will explore DeFi’s technological landscape and regulatory considerations. The session will be moderated by Troy Paredes...

On 22 May 2025, the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (US CFTC) released a CFTC Staff Advisory No. 25-15, reminding Designated Contract Markets (DCMs) and Derivatives Clearing Organizations (DCOs) of their regulatory obligations under the United States Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) and US CFTC regulations concerning market volatility controls. The advisory, jointly issued by the Division of Market Oversight (DMO) and the Division of Clearing and Risk (DCR), provides for preserving market integrity during periods of extreme volatility. The advisory states that DCMs must comply with Core Principle 4 of the CEA, which mandates mechanisms to prevent manipulation, price distortion, and market disruptions. Regulation 38.255 specifically requires DCMs to implement pre-trade risk controls such as trading pauses, price bands, and circuit breakers tailored to their market characteristics. The US CFTC also referred to the United States Futures Industry Association’s (FIA) “Best...