Trading firm and market maker Wintermute has urged the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to confirm that network tokens such as Bitcoin and Ether are not securities. The firm made the request in a September 2025 submission to the SEC Crypto Task Force.
Wintermute said network tokens are needed for decentralized networks to work. It argued that Bitcoin and Ether are different from financial products because they are used to run blockchain networks, rather than simply representing a claim on a company or asset.
The request later gained support from the SEC’s own 2026 guidance. In March 2026, the SEC said most crypto assets are not securities and created a new classification system. It specifically treated Ether as a digital commodity, while Bitcoin also falls within the digital commodity category.
Today, Wintermute submitted feedback to the SEC’s Crypto Task Force on tokenized securities
We set out recommendations in three areas we see as critical for liquidity providers to support the adoption of tokenized securities ↓
— Wintermute (@wintermute_t) September 3, 2025
Why Wintermute wanted a clear rule
Wintermute argued that treating network tokens as securities could affect almost every part of crypto trading. Securities rules can bring registration, reporting, custody, and other requirements that do not apply in the same way to commodities.
The firm said this could raise trading costs and reduce liquidity. It also warned that firms could move parts of their businesses outside the United States if the rules became too hard to follow. These are Wintermute’s views, not findings made by the SEC.
1. We recommend the SEC confirm that registered dealers can trade tokenized securities for their own account, self-custody tokenized securities with key management and wallet software, and settle onchain, including with stablecoins and other non-security assets, under principles-based guidance
Such affirmative guidance would end any hesitation that persists over whether dealers can operate a full-scale tokenized securities business in the U.S.
— Wintermute (@wintermute_t) September 3, 2025
Wintermute also asked the SEC to support both decentralized and centralized markets for tokenized securities. It wanted broker-dealers to have clearer rules for trading, settling, and holding tokenized assets while also allowing DeFi markets to develop.
The request came at a time when the SEC was collecting views from crypto companies before changing its approach. Wintermute later met with the SEC Crypto Task Force and submitted more comments on tokenized securities, dealer custody, and DeFi trading.
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The SEC later gave network tokens a clearer status
The biggest change since Wintermute’s request came on March 17, 2026. The SEC issued an interpretation covering several types of crypto assets and transactions. It said most crypto assets are not themselves securities and explained when a crypto asset may become linked to an investment contract.
The SEC’s 2026 framework places Bitcoin and Ether among digital commodities. Its guidance also separates digital commodities, digital tools, stablecoins, and digital securities. A tokenized stock or bond can still be a security because the underlying financial instrument remains a security.
This means Wintermute’s main request has partly been addressed. The SEC has provided a clearer view of network tokens, but the agency did not simply create a blanket rule saying every transaction involving Bitcoin or Ether is outside securities law. A non-security crypto asset can still be involved in an investment contract depending on how it is offered or sold.
The SEC also proposed new crypto rules in August 2026. The proposal includes a conditional safe harbor for some crypto assets after certain promised managerial efforts have ended. It also creates proposed exemptions for some crypto investment contracts. Public comments are due October 20, 2026, so the final rules could still change.
Wintermute’s policy push therefore became part of a much larger U.S. debate over how crypto assets should fit into securities law. Its original submission called for clearer treatment of network tokens, while the SEC’s 2026 guidance has now drawn a clearer line between assets such as Bitcoin and Ether and tokenized securities.
Beyond its policy work, Wintermute continues to expand its own market activities, including a Bitcoin-backed credit facility from Cantor Fitzgerald. The firm’s business now operates within a U.S. regulatory framework that is much clearer than when it first sent its request to the SEC.
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