In May 2025, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission staff issued non-binding guidance stating that protocol staking generally does not involve securities, though Commissioner Caroline Crenshaw publicly dissented from that position

How governments worldwide set rules for digital assets through legislation, agency rulemaking, licensing regimes and court fights.

Ongoing legal fight over which digital assets count as securities under investor-protection law and which are commodities, determining whether the SEC or CFTC oversees them.