SEC Says Token Buybacks and Network Upgrades Don’t Automatically Make Crypto Securities

REGULATORY DECISIONSEC Says Token Buybacks and NetworkUpgrades Don’t Automatically MakeCrypto Securities36IMPORTANCECLOSED5NEWS MEDIA5PIECESSep 28, 2026 06:36blockboard.net
In Regulation Emissions and burns

The SEC’s Corporation Finance staff released updated crypto FAQ guidance on 25 September and then revised it on 28 September. The changes address token buybacks, functional networks, staking receipt tokens, wrapped tokens and secondary-market platforms, and one revised answer adds a no-central-party condition for buyback announcements. The FAQ is nonbinding and sits within the Howey framework.

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What this rests on

Claim by claim, with its source
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The Division of Corporation Finance issued nine crypto FAQs on 25 September, following an interpretive release the SEC and CFTC had put out on 17 March.
SEC Says Token Buybacks and Network Upgrades Don’t Automatically Make Crypto Sec
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The staff guidance says a buyback announcement on a functional network is not automatically a promise of managerial effort, while the same kind of announcement can be treated differently before launch if it is framed as yield or return.
SEC Says Token Buybacks and Network Upgrades Don’t Automatically Make Crypto Sec
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The staff revised the buyback answer on 28 September to say the assurance applies only when a system is functional and has no central party.
SEC Staff Adds 'No Central Party' Limit to Token Buyback FAQ
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The FAQ update covers token buybacks, network services and staking receipt tokens, and it is described as carrying no legal force.
SEC Staff FAQ Says Crypto Buybacks and Staking Receipts Are Not Necessarily Secu
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The revised guidance applies the Howey framework to token buybacks, staking receipt tokens, wrapped tokens and secondary-market platforms.
SEC Staff Clarify When Crypto Tokens May Fall Outside Securities Rules

Market reaction

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-0.35 % after
$83,064price at publication
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How the story was built

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first
Sep 28 06:24
+5 h 39 m
Sep 28 12:03
Decrypt context
Its angle: protocols, providing, morning
+14 h 26 m
Sep 28 20:50
The Defiant context
Its angle: announcements, assurance, question; with quotes
+1 d 3 h
Sep 29 10:00
Unchained context
Its angle: representation, newsletter, constitute; with quotes
+2 d 21 h
Oct 1 04:20
LBank context our clock
Its angle: aspirational, announcing, generating; with quotes

Has this happened before?

WhenWhat happenedFigure
24 days ago SEC Clears Tokenized Stocks To Trade Onchain As CFTC Widens Software Relief event 2 actors in common · 2 news media
20 days ago All about PUMP’s 18% surge after SEC’s clarification, 398M token buybacks event 1 actors in common · 2 news media
21 days ago Hester Peirce, Known as “Crypto Mom”, Steps Down From the SEC event 1 actors in common · 12 news media
21 days ago OG.com seeks CFTC approval for single-stock perpetual futures event 1 actors in common · 2 news media
21 days ago SEC staff says certain crypto buybacks and staking tokens fall outside securities laws event 1 actors in common · 8 news media