Emre Yumlu 
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) held a meeting with Everstake, one of the world’s leading non-custodial staking providers, to clarify the regulatory status of staking activities in blockchain networks. The SEC’s Crypto Task Force also took part in the discussion.
With more than $193 billion in digital assets currently staked, it remains uncertain in the U.S. whether staking services fall under the definition of securities.
The previous SEC administration had imposed sanctions on major exchanges such as Kraken, Coinbase, and Consensys due to their staking services. However, the current administration has withdrawn most of these enforcement actions.
Everstake: Users Always Maintain Asset Control
During the meeting, Everstake stated that non-custodial staking is a technical process, not an investment product. According to the company, users do not lose control of their assets during the staking process and do not transfer ownership to any third party.
The company argued that this model does not technically involve an investment contract but is instead a blockchain infrastructure mechanism. Company founder Sergii Vasylchuk said:
“Staking is not a financial instrument or a securities transaction. It is a fundamental protocol mechanism that ensures the functioning of decentralized networks.”
Regulatory Uncertainty Must End
In a letter submitted to the SEC’s Crypto Task Force on April 8, 2025, Everstake requested regulatory clarity for non-custodial staking, as well as custodial and liquid staking models.
The company emphasized that in this staking model, users retain custody of their assets, no funds are pooled, and there is no expectation of profit based on managerial efforts.
In Everstake’s system, users delegate only validation rights, while maintaining full ownership of their tokens. Rewards are distributed algorithmically by the blockchain network itself.
Non-Custodial Staking Does Not Pass the Howey Test
The letter also highlighted that the staking process does not meet any element of the Howey Test. Users do not invest in a common enterprise, do not expect profits from the company’s efforts, and are not dependent on company management for financial results.
Rewards stem solely from network-level incentives and fluctuate with market conditions.
Everstake also proposed some core criteria for excluding non-custodial staking from securities classification:
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User asset control
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No pooled funds
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Permissionless withdrawal
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Provision of technical services only
The company likens non-custodial staking to proof-of-work mining, which the SEC has previously not classified as a securities transaction.
Innovation at Risk Without Clarity
According to the company’s Chief Legal Officer, Margaret Rosenfeld, there is no asset handover, investment contract, or third-party risk in the non-custodial staking process. Therefore, subjecting it to securities regulation could threaten the development of decentralized technologies:
“Treating this model as a security would severely hinder innovation in the blockchain space.”
However, no definitive regulatory commitment has been made by the SEC so far. Rosenfeld stated that while the agency did not provide any guarantees, it continues to listen to industry stakeholders.
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