The SEC's Division of Corporation Finance decided on November 3 not to pursue penalties for the issuance of the CC token of the Canton Network. In its assessment, it is a digital commodity, not a security. The token gained 4% on this.
What the SEC is. It is the US securities market regulator. If an asset is deemed a security, its issuance must be registered and reporting disclosed. A digital commodity carries no such requirements.
Why this matters to a trader. A token's status determines where and how it is permitted to be traded. A regulator's response on one token sets the logic for the others as well.
What exactly did the SEC write?
The document format is called a no-action letter. This is the regulator's staff response to a request in which they promise not to recommend that the Commission pursue enforcement under the described scheme.
- October 30 - the date of the request from the network's developer, the company Digital Asset
- Jonathan Ingram - the division's deputy chief counsel, signed the response
- Section 5 of the securities law and Section 12(g) of the exchanges law - registration under them is not required
This concerns automatic issuance. Tokens are credited according to the network's rules to those who service it: supervalidators, validators, and application developers.
Why did the regulator agree?
The SEC staff relied on two assertions by the applicant.
- Source of value. The token's price arises from the network's operation and demand for it, not from the efforts of the managing team.
- No central authority. The network has no central administrator.
The letter is not a binding Commission decision, it has no expiration date, it does not apply to other tokens or to the venues where CC is traded, and it is not considered an approval of an exchange-traded fund.
How did the token react?
As of 13:27 Moscow time, CC was worth $0.098 and was up 4% over the day. Over the week it remains down 4.2%.
Key point: one letter resolves the question for a specific issuance scheme, but it does not change the status of other tokens and does not protect against a drawdown.
What came before this?
The regulator has issued similar letters before: DoubleZero (2Z) in September 2025 and the Fuse project on Solana in November 2025.
- March - the SEC issued guidance separating digital commodities like BTC and ETH from securities
- Caveat - the tokens themselves are not considered securities, but the manner of their sale can still fall under the law
Regulatory decisions move the crypto market no less than statistics, so US dates are worth keeping in the economic calendar. If you trade crypto, find a challenge suited to this market.
Have you calculated how much those 4% would have yielded?
A green candle on a little-known token, a quick mental calculation of how much it would have yielded - a familiar exercise. In a two-thousand-dollar account, such 4% is covered by a taxi fare. In a hundred-thousand-dollar account, it is already a working result for the day. In prop trading, the trading nominal is provided by the company: you pass its risk check, trade its account, and keep most of what you earn. It is calmer to understand the scheme now than on the next such regulator letter.