Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana Are Not Securities. What This Means for Tokenized Assets
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SEC Release 33-11412 did more than introduce a five-category taxonomy for crypto assets. It answered one of the longest-standing questions in the industry: are Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana securities?
The answer is now formally documented: no, they are not. All three are classified as digital commodities under Category 2 of the new framework, placing them under CFTC jurisdiction — not the SEC. This has significant downstream effects for anyone building RWA infrastructure on top of these networks.
Which Tokens Are Now Confirmed as Commodities
The release explicitly names 16 tokens as digital commodities. The core list includes the major proof-of-work and proof-of-stake networks that most RWA infrastructure is built on today.
Proof-of-work. CFTC jurisdiction. The longest-awaited confirmation in crypto regulation.
The dominant smart contract network for tokenized securities, private credit, and fund shares.
High-throughput network gaining traction for institutional RWA issuance and settlement.
The other 13 tokens include Avalanche, Polygon, Arbitrum, Optimism, Base, Cosmos, Polkadot, Cardano, Algorand, Tezos, Stellar, Hedera, and Near — selected based on achieved decentralization and the absence of ongoing issuer promises.
The commodity classification is not permanent. A token achieves commodity status when genuine decentralization is reached and issuer promises have been fulfilled. If a network were to re-centralize, the classification could be revisited.
Why This Matters for RWA Projects
For real-world asset tokenization, the blockchain network you build on is not a neutral technical choice — it has been a regulatory one. Until now, the legal status of Ethereum as the dominant settlement layer for tokenized assets was technically unresolved. Projects have been building on a network whose classification was subject to ongoing debate.
That uncertainty is now resolved. When you issue a tokenized bond on Ethereum, the underlying settlement infrastructure is formally a commodity network. The bond itself may be a security — but the rails it runs on are not. This distinction matters for how you structure your legal documentation, how you describe your product to investors, and how your compliance counsel advises on custodial arrangements.
Before and After the Release
- ETH status officially unresolved — multiple enforcement actions pending
- SOL explicitly named as a security in several SEC complaints
- Compliance teams advised caution about building on “unclassified” networks
- Fund documents required extensive disclaimers about underlying network risk
- ETH formally classified as a commodity — CFTC jurisdiction confirmed
- SOL on the commodity list — prior SEC complaints legally superseded
- Building on commodity networks no longer raises securities law questions
- Compliance documentation simplified for the infrastructure layer
Practical Impact: Building on Commodity Infrastructure
The commodity classification of major L1 and L2 networks changes three things for RWA practitioners.
What Still Qualifies as a Security
The commodity classification of the network does not change the analysis for the asset token itself. A tokenized real estate fund issued on Ethereum is still a security — it just happens to settle on a commodity network.
The infrastructure being a commodity does not make the asset riding on that infrastructure a commodity. Tokenized equities, bonds, real estate interests, and fund shares remain Category 1 security tokens subject to full SEC registration — regardless of which blockchain they are issued on.
What has changed is the analysis at the infrastructure layer. You now have formal regulatory clarity that the network settlement layer — ETH gas fees, SOL validators, smart contract execution — operates in commodity territory. This removes a layer of legal uncertainty that has complicated structuring for years.
The Bottom Line
The Bottom Line
The formal commodity classification of Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and 13 other networks removes the single largest source of infrastructure-layer regulatory uncertainty for RWA projects in the United States.
Your tokenized asset is still a security and still requires full SEC compliance. But the network you build it on is no longer an open legal question. For compliance teams, fund lawyers, and platform builders — update your documentation accordingly.
GlobalTokenize is publishing a complete series analyzing every dimension of Release 33-11412 for RWA practitioners — from taxonomy and Howey analysis to jurisdiction comparisons and compliance checklists.
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