SEC Pulls ‘Digital Assets’ Definition From Final Ruling

In a final ruling published Wednesday solidifying changes made to the agency’s Form PF, the SEC left “digital assets” out of the glossary

article-image

K.unshu/Shutterstock, modified by Blockworks

share

After nine months, the US SEC is still mulling over its proposed definition of “digital assets.” 

In a final ruling published Wednesday solidifying changes made to the agency’s Form PF (a regulatory filing requirement for private funds), the SEC said it would not yet be tackling how to distinguish digital assets. 

“The Commission and staff are continuing to consider this term and are not adopting ‘digital assets’ as part of this rule at this time,” Wednesday’s rule states. 

The original proposal from 2022 defined “the term “digital asset” as an asset that is issued and/or transferred using distributed ledger or blockchain technology (“distributed ledger technology”), including, but not limited to, so-called ‘virtual currencies,’ ‘coins,’ and ‘tokens,’” attorneys from Willkie Farr & Gallagher wrote in a 2022 statement.

“When you look at the definition that the SEC had proposed originally, it was so broad anything on a blockchain constituted a digital asset,” Lee Scheider, general counsel at Ava Labs said. “That doesn’t make sense, that’s not the SEC’s jurisdiction.”

Notably, in the proposed amendments, the SEC opted to view “digital assets” as being synonymous with “crypto assets,” attorneys noted.

The recent collapse of several banks and regulators’ speculation about the crypto industry’s role may have pushed the SEC to hold off on any formal definitions for now, Andrew Durgee, head of Republic Crypto, said. 

“The problem is once [the SEC] does something, it’s very hard to unwind it,” Durgee said. 

The proposed definition for digital assets was very vague, Durgee added, noting that the agency will likely “take a deeper dive” and create a more detailed approach to regulating how funds interact with crypto. 

In August 2022, Gary Gensler’s agency first proposed adding ‘digital assets’ to Form PF’s glossary, which currently includes phrases such as “large private fund advisers” and “borrowings.”

The new Form PF increases reporting requirements for large private equity funds advisers “to provide additional information to the SEC about the private equity funds they advise.” 

“Today’s amendments to Form PF will enhance visibility into private funds and help protect investors and promote financial stability,” Gensler said in a Tweet Wednesday.

The ruling comes as industry members continue to express frustration around the agency’s enforcement approach and reluctance to provide clarity around the status of the assets in question — whatever they’re called.


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

Tags

Decoding crypto and the markets. Daily, with Byron Gilliam.

Upcoming Events

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

recent research

Research Report Templates.jpg

Research

Figure, founded by former SoFi CEO Mike Cagney, has emerged as a leader in onchain RWAs, with ~$17.5B publicly tokenized. The platform’s ecosystem volume is growing ~40% YoY as it expands beyond HELOCs into student loans, DSCR loans, unsecured loans, bankruptcy claims, and more. Operationally, Figure cuts average loan production cost by ~93% and compresses median funding time from ~42 days to ~10, creating a durable speed-and-cost advantage.

article-image

The Ethereum co-founder suggested LINEA holders would be eligible for other airdrops in cryptic tweet

article-image

The layer-2’s biggest release yet brings benefits — but a post-upgrade outage caused a chain reorg

article-image

Crypto is shifting into risk-on mode — pump.fun dominates meme activity, while Lido leans on treasury maneuvers

article-image

If the president breaks the Fed, he’ll own the budget problems

article-image

Combining Franklin Templeton’s tokenization expertise with Binance’s trading infrastructure could speed crypto adoption, companies say

article-image

The firm’s upcoming filing comes as competition heats up over the USDH stablecoin