The SEC declares that "PoW mining does not constitute securities trading," and miners do not need to register, marking a significant favourable information in regulation.

For the first time, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) explicitly defined that Proof-of-Work (PoW) cryptocurrency mining activities are not securities transactions and are therefore exempt from federal securities laws, and participants such as miners and mining pools are not required to register with the SEC. (Synopsis: Trump's cryptocurrency conference speech was "completely unbright", bitcoin once fell below $84,000, tariff doubts U.S. stocks closed black) (Background supplement: Good news: The US SEC ruled that meme coins are "not securities", and Trump exonerated himself in advance? The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued regulatory guidance on proof-of-work (PoW) mining activities on the 20th, and for the first time made that "PoW mining activities do not constitute securities transactions", so they are exempt from federal securities laws and mining participants do not need to register with the SEC. This decision provides clear regulatory clarity for PoW miners and mining pools, alleviating their concerns about compliance with U.S. securities laws. SEC Confirms Exemption from Securities Laws The SEC considers PoW mining to be an "administrative or transactional activity" and not an investment contract. Miners earn newly minted cryptocurrencies (called "Covered Crypto Assets") as rewards by providing computing resources to verify transactions and secure blockchain networks. This process does not rely on third-party management or entrepreneurial efforts, which is an important basis in the Howey test, a key criterion used to determine whether an asset is a security. The SEC considers "protocol mining" to be the process of verifying transactions and maintaining network security in a PoW blockchain. These networks are decentralized, permissionless systems where miners add new blocks to the blockchain by solving complex cryptographic puzzles. Miners do not need to own the network's native cryptocurrency to participate, which further separates mining from securities issuance. The SEC said that the "Protocol Mining" activities covered by its statement only cover: Miners mining crypto assets on PoW networks: The SEC emphasizes that these rewards come from the efforts of the miners themselves, not the management of third parties, and are therefore administrative tasks rather than securities transactions. The role of mining pools and pool operators involved in the protocol mining process, including their role in earning and distributing rewards. The SEC believes that miners' earnings in mining pools are related to their computational contributions, not the efforts of pool operators, and therefore these activities are also exempt from securities laws. Crypto Mining Industry Regulatory Victory This clarification is a major win for the PoW mining community. The SEC's confirmation that mining is outside the scope of securities regulation means that miners and pool operators can continue their operations without registration or additional legal requirements. This decision is likely to boost confidence in the mining industry, especially as mining continues to receive regulatory attention due to energy consumption and environmental impact issues. It is worth noting that after Trump took office to replace the SEC with a new crypto-friendly leadership, the continued commitment to give a clearer regulatory stance, the SEC defined the classification of digital assets for the first time at the end of February, classified Bitcoin as a digital commodity, and determined that Memecoins are not securities, and investors do so at their own risk. PoW coin fell in the past 24 hours However, after the SEC announcement, the price of PoW tokens did not rise significantly, and followed the overall cryptocurrency market in the past 24 hours, showing a general decline. Due to the lack of bright spots and substantial positives in Trump's speech at the digital asset summit, and the tariff war continued to push up risk aversion, bitcoin fell 3.3% from $86,529 last night to a minimum of $83,642, and now recovered slightly to $84,528, down about 1.5% in the past 24 hours. Source: CoinGecko Related reports Crypto mom Hester Peirce lists SEC Cryptocurrency Task Force's "Top 10 Priorities", revealing the new pattern of US regulation The SEC defines Crypto classification for the first time: BTC is a "digital commodity" Good news" The US SEC ruled that meme coins "are not securities", and Trump exonerated himself in advance? Opinion: "If the United States becomes a bitcoin mining and AI center, UHV transformers will become Trump's new concept stock (SEC announces that "PoW mining does not constitute a securities transaction", miners do not need to register to welcome major regulatory benefits) This article was first published in BlockTempo "Dynamic Trend - The Most Influential Blockchain News Media".