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The SEC and CFTC made it official. They’ve launched a joint regulatory initiative for digital assets. It’s called <a href="https://www.sec.gov/newsroom" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Project Crypto</a>.
This isn’t a proposal. It’s already moving.
In March 2026, the agencies published a shared interpretive framework in the Federal Register. Document number: 2026-05635. Title: “Application of the Federal Securities Laws to Certain Types of <a href="https://www.thecoinzone.com/news/japan-cuts-crypto-tax-20-percent-reclassifies-digital-assets/" data-wpil-monitor-id="2664">Crypto Assets</a> and Certain Transactions Involving Crypto Assets.” That’s the rulebook. It’s live.
The groundwork started earlier. November 12, 2025. The SEC and CFTC released a Joint Staff Statement on Trading of Certain <a href="https://www.thecoinzone.com/defi/what-is-a-rug-puller-in-crypto-and-how-do-you-spot-one/" data-wpil-monitor-id="2665">Spot Crypto</a> Asset Products. That was Phase One. January 29, 2026, the CFTC updated its Harmonization Initiative page. Phase Two began.
The framework draws a clearer line between the two agencies. Certain non-security <a href="https://www.thecoinzone.com/security/crypto-wallet/" data-wpil-monitor-id="2659">crypto</a> assets may qualify as commodities under the Commodity Exchange Act. That’s CFTC territory. Securities stay with the SEC. The boundary is sharper now than it’s ever been.
Congress isn’t helping. The <a href="https://www.thecoinzone.com/regulation/clarity-act-stablecoins-eth-defi-explained/" data-wpil-monitor-id="2661">CLARITY Act</a> was supposed to fix this legislatively. Comprehensive jurisdictional rules. Stablecoin coverage. Token classification. It’s stalled in the Senate. No movement. So the agencies moved instead.
That’s not unusual. It’s a pattern. Congress slows down. Agencies fill the gap. That’s exactly what’s happening here.
For crypto businesses, the stakes are real. The joint framework covers <a href="https://www.thecoinzone.com/defi/spot-trading-crypto/" data-wpil-monitor-id="2660">spot trading</a>, custody arrangements, and on-chain activities. Agency press materials and Federal Register documentation confirm it. Firms that were waiting on Congress before updating compliance structures—that wait may be over. Agency-level obligations exist now. Regardless of what the <a href="https://www.thecoinzone.com/news/sam-bankman-fried-crypto-bill-controversy/" data-wpil-monitor-id="2663">CLARITY Act</a> does.
The industry noticed. Cointelegraph covered it. Coin Bureau covered it too. More than 1.1 million followers. That single post generated over 31,000 interactions, per LunarCrush signal data. The story spread fast.
Two big questions remain. Can these interpretations survive legal challenge? Will eventual legislation override them? Nobody knows yet.
For now, <a href="https://www.thecoinzone.com/news/trump-linked-crypto-sues-justin-sun-defamation/" data-wpil-monitor-id="2662">Project Crypto</a> is the most concrete federal framework for digital assets the US government has produced. It’s not perfect. It’s not permanent. But it’s here.

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Project Crypto Is Real. What It Means for Your Business.

The SEC and CFTC launched Project Crypto, a live federal framework for digital assets. Here's what it means for your crypto business compliance now.