Crypto Industry Urges SEC to Provide Clear Staking Guidelines

Crypto Industry Urges SEC to Provide Clear Staking Guidelines

The cryptocurrency industry is calling on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to formally issue clear guidelines on staking services, citing ongoing regulatory uncertainty for Web3 providers, according to Cointelegraph.

Speaking at the Solana Accelerate conference in New York, Allison Muir, Head of Staking Policy at the Crypto Council for Innovation, stated that clarifying the SEC’s position on staking has become the industry’s top priority.

“While there has been constructive engagement with the SEC over the past four months, there is still no formal guidance on staking,” Muir noted.

Under the previous U.S. administration, the SEC pursued legal actions against staking service providers, treating them as unregistered securities offerings. However, the stance has softened somewhat under President Donald Trump’s administration. Despite issuing several new regulatory notices recently, the SEC has yet to address staking specifically.

In addition to working with the SEC, the crypto industry is also engaging with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The IRS has declared that staking rewards constitute “service income,” a classification that the industry strongly disputes.

“We disagree with the IRS's interpretation and continue to engage in discussions on the matter,” Muir said.

The industry emphasizes that clear, consistent guidelines from both the SEC and IRS are critical to the growth of staking and Web3 infrastructure in the United States.