The SEC’s formal statement specifies that properly structured liquid staking protocols issuing receipt tokens do not qualify as securities, providing much-needed regulatory clarity in the crypto space.
On August 5, the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance clarified that liquid staking models that issue receipt tokens for staked assets do not meet the definition of securities under federal law if they avoid managerial or entrepreneurial functions. The statement highlights that such protocols, used by platforms like Lido and Rocket Pool, are excluded from the Howey test criteria, and notes market implications with over 30% of ETH staked via liquid staking.