Are Tokens Really Securities? – Market Info

The cryptocurrency market has slightly increased over the past two weeks. The total market capitalization rose by 1.8% and is currently hovering around \$3.39 trillion. Bitcoin’s market dominance has not changed significantly and continues to consolidate around 58%.

With the growth of some altcoins and a slight increase in Bitcoin, the Fear & Greed Index moved up by only three points over the two-week period and is now at 54 out of 100. The Altcoin Season Index rose from 55 points to 78 points, indicating an altcoin season. At the same time, this index entered the “Altcoin Season” range for the first time since December 2024.

Source: Coinmarketcap

Are Tokens Really Securities?

The SEC, under its new leadership, has announced a strategic shift in its approach to crypto regulation. Chairman Paul Atkins declared that most cryptocurrency tokens do not qualify as securities. Instead of one-off enforcement actions, the SEC aims to establish clear and predictable rules that allow innovators to thrive in the U.S. market. Atkins introduced the “Project Crypto” initiative, designed to modernize existing regulations to cover trading, lending, and staking of digital assets under a unified regulatory framework.

One of the pillars of this initiative is the support of so-called “super-apps” – multifunctional platforms offering trading, staking, and lending under one brand, with different custody options for assets. Atkins also emphasized setting regulation at the “minimally effective level” to avoid excessive bureaucracy that would only benefit the largest established companies.

This strategy marks a clear departure from the SEC’s previous hardline stance, under which the vast majority of tokens were considered securities. The initiative is also supported by the government’s Digital Markets Task Force, which has developed an ambitious framework to foster new, transparent market structures for blockchain-based financial services.

According to Atkins, this development “signals a new day at the SEC” — with the priority being clear crypto regulation in the U.S. that supports domestic innovation instead of driving capital into foreign jurisdictions. The goal is to enable the dynamic growth of blockchain markets without uncertainty over which tokens fall under securities regulation. Source

Record Amount of ETH Waiting for Staking

Ethereum is experiencing notable developments in staking — the amount of ETH waiting to be staked has reached its highest level since 2023. At one point, as much as 900,000 ETH were in the so-called staking queue, while another 1 million ETH are currently waiting to exit staking. These sharp shifts have been driven mainly by Ethereum’s price growth.

Sentiment also shifted after a major Ethereum ICO-era holder, who had not previously engaged in staking or other activities, suddenly staked 150,000 ETH. However, this unknown user left another 105,000 ETH sitting idle in their wallet, and it remains unclear whether these assets will also be staked or left inactive.

This trend highlights that Ethereum, as a Proof-of-Stake system, is functioning not only as the largest infrastructure for decentralized applications but also as a magnet for capital — with investors attracted by the potential staking yield, currently above 3%. While last month exits dominated and signaled uncertainty, the rising queue of ETH waiting to be staked suggests renewed interest in long-term staking rewards.

In simple terms, this shift sparks optimism for ETH’s future: more investors are choosing to stake ETH for the long term, strengthening Ethereum’s role as an attractive safe harbor for capital seeking stability and passive income. Source

Nasdaq Wants to Offer Tokenized Securities

Nasdaq has taken a major step toward the digitalization of financial markets. The exchange submitted a proposal to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that would allow trading of tokenized versions of stocks and exchange-traded products directly on its main platform. This plan would give investors the option to choose whether to trade traditional digital equities or their tokenized counterparts, with both forms representing the same rights and claims as conventional securities.

The tokenized shares would operate under existing trading and order management rules. This means investors would not need to change their usual practices, as blockchain technology would be used only for clearing and settlement. Nasdaq emphasized that this approach would bring greater transparency, faster settlement, and lower operational costs.

If approved by the SEC, the first token-settled trades could take place as early as the end of Q3 2026, assuming that the Depository Trust Company (DTC) infrastructure is ready. This would mark a historic precedent — for the first time, tokenized securities could be traded alongside traditional ones on a major U.S. market.

According to exchange representatives, this is a natural step in the evolution of capital markets. Tokenization can increase efficiency, accelerate capital movement, and open the door to innovative financial products. For investors, it would mean easier access to liquidity and lower risks associated with lengthy settlement processes. With this move, Nasdaq confirms its ambition to lead the technological transformations that could fundamentally shape the future of global financial markets. Source

Total Value Locked on Solana Hits New All-Time High

The DeFi ecosystem on the Solana blockchain has reached a new record — the total value locked (TVL) climbed to between $12.1 and $12.3 billion, marking an all-time high and a major milestone for the Solana ecosystem.

This surge has been fueled by broad capital inflows across key protocols. Several platforms, including Jupiter, Jito, Sanctum, and Raydium, recorded double-digit monthly growth in TVL. Currently, the largest DeFi app on Solana is Jupiter, the decentralized exchange, which now holds around $3.3 billion in locked assets. The diversified growth across lending, trading, and staking services reflects Solana’s rising activity.

This increase in TVL places Solana among the top blockchains by liquidity, with its locked assets exceeding the combined amounts deployed across leading Ethereum Layer-2 solutions such as Base, Arbitrum, and Optimism.

Growing institutional interest is also accelerating this trend. Some firms are starting to invest in the SOL token as part of broader diversification strategies, while the first Wall Street ETFs tied to Solana’s liquid version are emerging. These developments suggest that Solana is gaining traction among investors seeking a blend of high performance and innovative DeFi opportunities.

Overall, this record TVL signals that Solana is on the rise as a widely used, scalable DeFi network — with a strong user base, robust protocols, and increasing institutional trust. Source

PPI Surprise Decline – Rate Cuts Now Highly Likely

In August, U.S. producer inflation (PPI) eased slightly, surprising market expectations — the producer price index fell 0.1% from the previous month, with service prices dropping 0.2%, while goods prices rose just 0.1%. The annual PPI rate came in at 2.6%, below the pace seen in June and July. Core PPI (excluding food, energy, and trade services) increased 0.3% month-over-month and 2.8% year-over-year. This trend suggests that price pressures are easing, providing room for interest rate cuts. Markets now widely expect the Fed to begin a series of rate cuts at its September meeting, with a quarterly reduction seen as almost certain.

While PPI indicates growing slack, analysts are turning their focus to upcoming consumer inflation (CPI) data, set to be released this Thursday. Expectations point to a 0.3% monthly increase in consumer goods and services, with the annual growth rate potentially rising to 2.9%, the highest level since January. Core inflation is projected to remain around 3.1% month-over-month.

Market attention on these figures is intense — weaker PPI supports rate cut expectations, but higher CPI could accelerate concerns about persistent price instability and dampen this outlook. The Fed thus faces a delicate decision: to support growth without disrupting the fragile disinflation process. Source

Ethereum Prepares for Asset Tokenization

Ethereum is gaining new momentum toward institutional adoption through ERC-7943, a standard designed as a universal framework for tokenizing real-world assets (RWA). This standard introduces a minimalist and modular interface that works independently of specific token types or infrastructures; it can be implemented on Ethereum, its Layer-2s, or any EVM-compatible chain without unnecessary dependencies on proprietary solutions.

The proposal was authored by Dario Lo Buglio of Brickken, who describes it as a “universal layer” for RWA tokens. The standard enables features such as mandatory account freezing, forced transfers, user eligibility checks, and transaction authorization — without reference to specific legal contracts or identity mechanisms. This approach helps developers and companies deploy tokenized assets without creating custom “wrapped” solutions, significantly improving interoperability.

ERC-7943 was developed by a coalition of more than ten tech and fintech firms, including Brickken, Bit2Me, DecoLabs, Hacken, Stobox, DigiShares, and others, aiming to address fragmentation in the RWA token market. The standard is currently under community review as part of the formal Ethereum Improvement Proposal process.

The timing is significant, as on-chain RWA volumes are now in the tens of billions of dollars — with tokenized assets growing month by month and institutional interest clearly rising. An open, implementation-neutral framework could be key to sustainable adoption.

Previous efforts included standards such as ERC-1400 and ERC-3643, but these were often tied too closely to specific identities or platforms, introducing inefficiencies and higher costs. ERC-7943 is positioned as a simpler, more flexible solution that leaves additional functions to developers, preserving modularity and easing deployment.

If ERC-7943 gains traction, it would mark another technological leap for Ethereum — just as ERC-20 launched the ICO era, ERC-721 fueled the NFT boom, and ERC-1155 enabled combined fungible and non-fungible assets in a single smart contract, ERC-7943 has the potential to spark the next wave of adoption in DeFi and real-world asset tokenization. Source

Invest With Fumbi Today

Harness the potential of cryptocurrencies simply, securely and efficiently. Start investing with Fumbi with amounts starting from €50. The Fumbi Algorithm in the Fumbi Index Portfolio tracks price movements in the cryptocurrency market for you. If you want to build your own crypto portfolios, choose the Advanced Portfolios product, where you will have access to over 120 cryptocurrencies and templates created by our team that focus on different areas within the crypto universe.

TAKE ADVANTAGE OF CRYPTO’S POTENTIAL

Have you come across a term in the text that you don’t understand? Never mind, you can find all the important terms related to cryptocurrencies in one place in our new Fumbi Dictionary.