TLDR
- Six blockchain groups, including Chainlink Labs and the Cardano Foundation, asked the SEC to formally classify digital commodities as non-securities.
- The joint letter was filed Oct. 20, the last day of the public comment period on the proposed Regulation Crypto Assets rule.
- The groups want the definition placed in the rule’s binding text instead of staff guidance that can change.
- The SEC’s framework drew about 140 comments over 60 days, and Ripple filed its own letter the same day.
- The letter does not change any token’s legal status today, and the SEC does not have to adopt the language.
Six major blockchain organizations have asked the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to make its “digital commodity” definition official. The request came as the agency’s public consultation on proposed crypto rules closed on Tuesday.
.@chainlink is proud to partner with @hedera, @Aptos, @AvaLabs, and @StellarOrg in urging the SEC to codify its digital commodity framework.
Builders need lasting certainty. Codifying this progress would be a meaningful step toward keeping America the home of digital asset… pic.twitter.com/rAjs9C6vdy
— Taylor Barr (@taylorjbarr) October 20, 2026
The joint letter is dated Oct. 20, 2026. The signers are Chainlink Labs, the Cardano Foundation, Hedera, Aptos Labs, Ava Labs and the Stellar Development Foundation.
What the Groups Are Asking For
The coalition wants the SEC to write its digital commodity classification into the proposed Regulation Crypto Assets framework. They argue that guidance alone leaves market participants facing legal uncertainty.
BREAKING: 🇺🇸 Stellar, Hedera, Aptos, Avalanche, Cardano, and Chainlink urged the SEC to establish clear rules for classifying cryptocurrencies as digital commodities.
CLARITY is underway! 🚀 pic.twitter.com/Rg7RwtRROl
— Crypto Rover (@cryptorover) October 21, 2026
The groups say the SEC’s current interpretation already treats digital commodities as a separate category. However, they say the proposed rules do not clearly reflect that.
This matters because of how rules work. The operative text of a regulation is the part that binds. Preambles, footnotes and staff guidance can explain a rule, but they carry less weight.
The groups say a definition in the rule itself would give developers long-term certainty. A token’s status would not depend on how future officials read informal guidance.
Taylor Barr, head of policy at Chainlink, said building lasting foundations into US law would help keep the country attractive for digital asset innovation.
The letter also asks for more clarity on how securities laws apply to secondary-market transactions. It also seeks guidance on staking and other activities tied to decentralized networks.
Background on the Proposal
The SEC introduced its proposed crypto framework in August. It drew about 140 public comments over 60 days.
Industry participants and legal scholars shared competing views. The topics included proposed exemptions for crypto offerings and a conditional safe harbor for certain tokens.
The six groups represent the teams behind APT, AVAX, ADA, LINK, HBAR and XLM. All six tokens were named in a footnote of the SEC’s March 17, 2026 guidance.
That footnote tied the tokens to futures regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The CFTC oversees commodity derivatives, while the SEC oversees securities.
Being named in a footnote is not a guarantee of status. Footnotes do not have the legal staying power of rule text.
The proposed regulation aims to address confusion over how tokens are treated under US law. Enforcement actions against companies such as Binance and Coinbase have added to that confusion.
A commodity label appeals to token issuers because it would place a token outside the securities framework. That framework drives much of the SEC’s enforcement activity.
Ripple also filed a separate comment letter on Oct. 20. Its letter supported the same general effort and focused on refining existing classifications.
Comment letters are requests, not outcomes. The SEC does not have to adopt the coalition’s language, and the final rule could differ from the proposal.
The comment period formally closed on Oct. 20, but the SEC may still accept feedback afterward. For now, the letter does not change the legal status of ADA or any other token tied to the groups.
