In short
- On 17 March 2026 the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued an interpretation of how US securities laws apply to certain crypto assets.
- It named 16 crypto assets as examples of “digital commodities”, which it says are not themselves securities. XRP and Stellar’s XLM are two of them.
- It is an interpretation, not a law, and it can be changed. It is also a United States document; Australia has its own rules.
- The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) joined it.
If you hold XRP or XLM, or have been weighing them, you have probably heard for years that the question of whether they are securities hung over them. In March 2026 the US regulator gave its own answer, in writing.
What the SEC did
On 17 March 2026 the SEC issued an interpretation of how the federal securities laws apply to certain crypto assets. It was printed in the US Federal Register on 23 March 2026. The CFTC joined the interpretation.
The interpretation sorts crypto assets into five groups: digital commodities, digital collectibles, digital tools, stablecoins and digital securities.
In the SEC’s own words: “Digital commodities, digital collectibles, and digital tools ... are not themselves securities.”
Where XRP and XLM sit
The interpretation lists 16 crypto assets as examples of digital commodities. XRP is one. Stellar’s XLM is another.
It gives its reason in a footnote. The SEC says these assets are “intrinsically linked to and derive their value from the programmatic operation of a crypto system that is functional”, rather than from “the expectation of profits from the essential managerial efforts of others”.
So the SEC sees the value of these assets as coming from a working network and from supply and demand, not from the efforts of others who manage them.
The same footnote adds that, as of the date of the release, each of these assets underlies a futures contract made available to trade on a market overseen by the CFTC.
What it says, and what it does not
| What the interpretation says | What it does not say |
|---|---|
| XRP and XLM are named as examples of digital commodities | That the list is closed or permanent |
| Digital commodities are not themselves securities | That every sale of them is outside the securities laws |
| It reflects their features as of the date of the release | Anything about any asset’s price or merit |
In words: the interpretation names XRP and XLM as examples of digital commodities, but it does not say the list is closed or permanent. It says digital commodities are not themselves securities, but it does not say every sale of them is outside the securities laws: in the SEC’s words, a non-security crypto asset “can be offered and sold subject to an investment contract, which is a security”. And it reflects their features as of the date of the release, saying nothing about any asset’s price or merit.
How firm is it?
It is an interpretation by the Commission, not a statute or a rule. The Commission can change it.
On the day, the CFTC’s chairman, Michael S. Selig, was quoted in the SEC’s release: “With today’s interpretation, the wait is over.” The SEC’s chairman spoke of it as “an important bridge” while Congress works on market structure legislation.
What it means in Australia
This is a United States interpretation by United States regulators. It does not change Australian law.
Australia is building its own rules. The Corporations Amendment (Digital Assets Framework) Act 2026 has passed but has not yet commenced. It commences 12 months after assent: the Act’s table gives 8 April 2027, and ASIC, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, says 9 April 2027. It makes digital asset platforms and tokenised custody platforms financial products, with some exceptions.
Where Stellar fits
Stellar is a separate network from the XRP Ledger, and XLM is its own asset.
The Stellar network is run by a global set of independent validators. The Stellar Development Foundation, a non-profit founded in 2014, supports its development and growth.
My own view
In my view, the XRP Ledger is the technology that will drive much of this, and XLM has a place beside it. That is my opinion, not a forecast, and you don’t have to agree with it.
What comes next
The next lesson in this series will look at Stellar on its own: what the network is and who uses it, from the record.
Join the lessons by email and you get each new lesson as it is published, sourced and dated, in plain words.
Nicholas holds some of the assets discussed in this article.
Education only, not personal or financial advice.