DeFi Cheers as SEC Affirms Liquid Staking Protocols Aren’t Securities
The SEC’s new guidance on liquid staking boosts governance tokens like LDO and RPL, while TVL across protocols holds steady at $67 billion.
What to know:
LDO and RPL tokens rose 4.5% and 10.5%, respectively, following the SEC’s Tuesday statement affirming liquid staking protocols don’t trigger securities laws.
Total liquid staking TVL remains steady at $67B, with Lido maintaining a dominant $31.7B (47%) share, according to DeFiLlama.
Legal clarity may unlock institutional inflows, with industry leaders welcoming the decision as validation for decentralized, non-custodial staking infrastructure.
The SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance issued a staff statement on Tuesday, declaring that properly structured liquid‑staking protocols and their receipt tokens generally do not constitute securities under U.S. law.
This clarity has led to modest upticks in token prices and protocol activity. Lido’s governance token, LDO, rose by approximately 4.5%, from $0.88 to $0.92, before retreating to support. Similarly, Rocket Pool’s RPL token climbed 10.5%, reaching $7.28 from $6.59, before also giving up some gains.
