SEC Drops New Crypto Rulebook—Regulators Finally Crack Open the Blockchain Black Box

Wall Street’s watchdog just handed crypto firms a fresh stack of homework. The SEC’s latest FAQ dump tackles everything from staking services to DeFi compliance—with all the bureaucratic flair you’d expect from an agency that still uses fax machines.

Key takeaways? The usual suspects get airtime: custody rules, broker-dealer registration, and that ever-popular question—’Hey SEC, is this thing a security?’ Spoiler: They still think everything is.

Meanwhile, decentralized projects get the side-eye treatment. The guidance suggests even ’trustless’ systems might need... wait for it... trusted intermediaries. Because nothing says ’innovation’ like shoehorning blockchain into legacy frameworks built for the analog age.

One cynical footnote: These ’clarifications’ conveniently drop during a bear market—just when crypto firms can least afford the legal firepower to decode them. How very... efficient.