On November 2, 2026, the Staff of the Division of Corporation Finance (the “Division”) of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) added new Questions 1.4 through 1.6 to its frequently asked questions (the “FAQs”) on how the federal securities laws apply to certain crypto assets and certain transactions involving crypto assets (read about the original FAQs here).
By way of background, as set forth in the SEC’s March 17, 2026 interpretive release (the “Interpretive Release”), “a digital commodity is a crypto asset that is intrinsically linked to and derives its value from the programmatic operation of a crypto system that is ‘functional,’ as well as supply and demand dynamics, rather than from the expectation of profits from the essential managerial efforts of others.” A digital commodity is used to facilitate and incentivize the validation, ordering, and confirmation of transactions on the functional crypto system, and so is necessary for the operation of the functional crypto system. The functional crypto system does not have a “central party” that oversees participation or distributes rewards to users, meaning that the value of a digital commodity is intrinsically linked to the programmatic functioning of the system. The new FAQs address the concept of a “central party,” which the SEC defined as a “person, entity, or group of persons or entities having operational, economic, or voting control of a crypto system.”
The new FAQs provide the following key guidance:
Broad-Based Governance Participants as a “Group”
Whether the participants in a functional crypto system’s broad-based governance system are a “group of persons or entities” for purposes of the “central party” definition is a facts and circumstances determination. However, participants generally will not be considered a group if they are not affiliated and do not have an agreement, arrangement, or understanding (whether formal or informal) to act in concert (including through delegation) separate from their participation in the broad-based governance system itself.[1]
The same is true where the broad-based governance system is part of an organization, association, or foundation and participation is based on holding the crypto system’s native crypto asset, although the organization, association, or foundation could itself be a central party if it has operational, economic, or voting control over another crypto system. In any event, even participants that are considered a group would need to have operational, economic, or voting control of the functional crypto system to be a central party.
The Staff noted that this view pertains exclusively to the description of digital commodities in Section III of the Interpretive Release and has no relevance to provisions of the Securities Act or the Exchange Act.
Overseeing Participation
A central party oversees participation in a crypto system when it has the authority to control access to the crypto system at any level, whether at the protocol, validator, or user level. For example, a central party oversees participation when it has unilateral authority to grant or limit access to the crypto system; determine or change the voting processes for software upgrades, protocol changes, or distributions of the native crypto asset; control who can participate in the consensus mechanism to validate transactions; or modify the crypto system’s rules-based code, reverse transactions, or revoke access. By contrast, a central party generally does not oversee participation where every material aspect of the crypto system’s ongoing operation is executed automatically pursuant to rules-based code without discretion by any person, or where any discretion is exercised solely through a broad-based governance system whose participants are not themselves a central party.
Relationship Between “Functional” and “Decentralized”
The Interpretive Release provides that a digital commodity is necessary to participate in or use certain aspects of an associated functional crypto system, and also separately states that a digital commodity may be native to a crypto system that is decentralized. For purposes of Section III of the Interpretive Release, “functional” and “decentralized” are distinct concepts that address different aspects of a crypto system’s design and operation. A crypto system is “functional” if its native crypto asset can be used on the system in accordance with the system’s programmatic utility, and is “decentralized” if it functions and operates autonomously with no person, entity, or group of persons or entities having operational, economic, or voting control of it. Because a functional crypto system does not have a central party that oversees participation or distributes rewards to users, and a digital commodity may be native to a functional crypto system that is decentralized, a functional crypto system to which a digital commodity is native has characteristics of decentralization, although the degree of decentralization can vary depending on the facts and circumstances.
Access the FAQs: Division of Corporation Finance FAQs on Crypto Assets.
Access the Interpretive Release: Interpretive Release.
[1] The FAQs define a “broad-based governance system” as a transparent, rules-based system that permits and results in a wide and diverse group of a crypto system’s stakeholders of multiple types (e.g., developers, node operators, validators/miners, and/or holders of the crypto system’s native crypto asset) to independently contribute and form consensus or reach binding agreement regarding decisions involving the crypto system.

