SEC Chair Paul Atkins has clarified why nonfungible tokens generally do not qualify as securities, following the agency’s release of an interpretive framework identifying four categories of digital assets outside securities law. Speaking in a CNBC interview, Atkins listed digital commodities, digital tools, digital collectibles including NFTs, and stablecoins as assets typically excluded from that definition.
Atkins described digital collectibles as items that are bought and held, much like physical collectibles, rather than functioning as investment contracts — the legal standard used to define securities. He compared NFTs to baseball cards and memecoins, noting they represent an immutable purchase rather than a tradable investment vehicle.
The SEC’s approach to digital assets has shifted under Atkins, coinciding with the arrival of a more crypto-friendly administration in early 2025. Atkins has acknowledged that past regulatory missteps may have set the United States back by as much as a decade in crypto development and has pledged to reverse that trend.
Originally reported by CoinTelegraph.
