Crypto Council for Innovation Urges SEC to Clarify Staking Regulations

Highlights:

• Crypto group urges SEC to clarify staking rules for responsible industry growth.
• Group emphasizes staking supports blockchain security, not investment, under current law.
• Coalition asks SEC to approve staking in ETPs to boost U.S. market competitiveness.

A group of 30 cryptocurrency advocacy organizations, led by the Crypto Council for Innovation (CCI), sent a letter to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Wednesday. They asked the SEC to provide clear and simple rules for staking and related services to help the crypto industry follow regulations and grow responsibly.

The letter, sent to SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce, comes as the crypto industry calls for clear rules on blockchain infrastructure. The message was organized by the Proof of Stake Alliance (POSA), a group working under the Crypto Council for Innovation. The Proof of Stake Alliance has many well-known crypto groups and companies. Some of these include Kraken, a crypto exchange, Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), a big venture capital firm, and Consensys, a blockchain software company.

1/ Today, CCI is proud to stand alongside nearly 30 key players in the industry to secure US leadership in staking. This kind of alignment matters. Here’s why: pic.twitter.com/1JZRtstpWD

— Crypto Council for Innovation (@crypto_council) April 30, 2025

Staking Shouldn’t Be Treated as Investment, Says Crypto Group

Staking is when a person locks their crypto to help run a blockchain network. This helps check transactions and keep the system safe. In return, they earn rewards from the network. The Crypto Council for Innovation says these rewards come from the blockchain, not from any company or manager. So, they believe the law should not treat staking as a type of investment. The group is also asking the SEC to give simple and clear rules for people who offer staking services, like it did before for crypto mining. 

The group noted that in the last four months, there has been more progress and better talks with the SEC than in the last four years. They mentioned that the crypto industry is now coming forward with clear suggestions for new rules. The industry and SEC saw this change as a sign of growing teamwork.

The letter concludes:

“The industry has stepped up with one voice to make a clear case: staking is not a securities activity, and trying to regulate it as such would only hinder network security, stifle innovation, and undermine U.S. competitiveness in the digital asset space”.

SEC Urged to Include Staking in ETPs

The coalition asked the SEC to let staking be part of exchange-traded products (ETPs) and avoid strict rules that could stop market growth. The SEC has not approved a crypto-staking ETF and delayed its decision on Grayscale’s Ether ETF on April 14.

The group said that if the SEC gives clear and simple rules, it will help keep the U.S. competitive in the fast-growing digital asset market. They highlighted that countries like the U.K., Canada, and Hong Kong have already implemented their own staking regulations.

In a Wednesday X post, CCI stated:

“Staking isn’t niche—it’s the backbone of the decentralized internet. It secures networks, supports decentralization, and empowers builders to create the next generation of applications on PoS blockchains.”