Alert about the legal risks of liquid staking
In the spotlight: this famous practice that allows you to leverage your cryptos while maintaining liquidity thanks to the "receipt tokens." A typically Web3 innovation, both agile and ambitious, but legally slippery.
So far, the SEC has left the doubt hanging: was it a disguised sale of securities? An undeclared financial arrangement? Despite this gray area, some projects have continued to develop, managing to mobilize a million dollars to support Web3 builders, in a climate of still heavy regulatory uncertainty.
In its recent statement, the agency makes a partial decision. Depending on the facts and circumstances, some of these operations may not be subject to the 1933 and 1934 laws that regulate securities offerings.
In other words, not all cases are treated equally. It is not an absolution, but a first step towards a more nuanced and contextual interpretation of regulation.
This opens a door, but above all a minefield for the affected crypto protocols and platforms. Each liquid staking model will now have to prove that it does not amount to either a promise of guaranteed returns or a disguised sale of securities. The confusion recedes, of course, but the legal risk remains very real.