The recent comments from employees of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regarding liquid staking have sparked a mix of optimism and concern, highlighting the regulatory gray area surrounding one of the fastest-growing sectors in cryptocurrency.

While some industry participants view this non-binding guidance as a positive step for institutional and retail adoption of liquid staking technology, others point out that key legal issues remain unresolved and may face challenges in the future.

Scott Gralnick, head of institutional staking at Marinade, told Cointelegraph, "First of all, this guidance is not legally binding… It may be questioned at some point."

"The industry needs to continue to collaborate to drive positive regulatory outcomes. This includes supporting the upcoming vote on market structure legislation."

The core content of the SEC statement is a special note clarifying that the statement only represents the views of a specific department within the SEC and does not reflect the position of the entire agency. The special note states that the statement "is not a rule, regulation, guidance, or formal statement of the SEC."

Sources informed Cointelegraph that employee guidance is not uncommon and has not undergone formal votes by the commission. However, this does not mean that the commissioners are unaware of it.

Liquid staking allows users to earn staking rewards while maintaining the liquidity and availability of their tokens, and its complexity is higher than traditional staking. Even within liquid staking protocols, the technology and operational models can vary significantly. The SEC employees may not have fully considered these differences in their latest guidance.

Sam Kim, Chief Legal Officer at Lido Labs, stated, "This guidance confirms that liquid staking activities are not considered securities offerings." He added, "However, there are still some unresolved regulatory issues regarding re-staking, cross-chain staking, and complex financial products built on staking. These areas require further regulatory clarification."

Michael Hubbard, Chief Strategy Officer at SOL Strategies, mentioned that protocols that operate purely in an administrative or auxiliary capacity—issuing receipt tokens on a one-to-one basis, allowing users to stake without controlling the timing or amount, and not guaranteeing returns—"might be able to achieve clear compliance recognition under this framework."

Hubbard told Cointelegraph, "However, the guidance is extremely specific in its parameters and emphasizes that any deviation from the described structure could trigger different regulatory treatment."

One important issue that the SEC's relevant department has not clarified is the taxation of rewards obtained through liquid staking. This reward affects all participants in the ecosystem, regardless of the size of their staking, and must be reported to tax authorities.

Evan Weiss, Chief Operating Officer of Alluvial, stated, "The question of when staking rewards are taxed (at the time of receipt or at the time of sale or transfer) remains."

"Currently, related cases are being actively reviewed. At the same time, there are several initiatives at the congressional level aimed at achieving fair tax treatment for staking to support the continued development of the industry."

Another significant issue is the tax rules for trust beneficiaries, which dictate how assets are taxed upon inheritance. Weiss pointed out that these rules are a major regulatory barrier preventing staked assets from being included in exchange-traded funds and remain unresolved to this day.

Related: Ripple Acquires Stablecoin Payment Platform Rail for $200 Million

Original article: “SEC Employee Guidance on Liquid Staking Leaves Regulatory Questions, May Face Controversy”

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