The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission clarified its stance on specific proof-of-work mining activities, the agency's latest move as it transitions towards a seemingly more industry-friendly approach to crypto.

In a statement issued on Thursday by the agency's corporate finance division, SEC staff stated that proof-of-work mining does not involve the offering and sale of securities.

"Accordingly, it is the Division's view that participants in Mining Activities do not need to register transactions with the Commission under the Securities Act nor fall within one of the registration exemptions of the Securities Act in relation to these Mining Activities," said the SEC.

In recent weeks, the agency has been busy. Since President Donald Trump took office in January and following the departure of former SEC Chair Gary Gensler, who was reluctant towards cryptocurrencies, the agency has rescinded the controversial crypto accounting guidance, dropped enforcement actions against major players in the crypto industry, issued a statement on memecoins, and reexamined rules affecting cryptocurrencies. Interim Republican Chair Mark Uyeda has also created a crypto task force that will be led by Commissioner Hester Peirce and will meet on Friday to discuss the "state of security."

Proof of work is a type of consensus mechanism, the other being proof of stake, which requires miners to expend computational efforts to solve cryptographic puzzles, effectively competing with other miners. The successful miner is rewarded with a certain amount of crypto. Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, uses proof of work.