the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) cryptocurrency special working group recently met with the non-custodial staking service provider Everstake, which claims that non-custodial staking should be considered a technical protocol mechanism rather than a securities transaction.

Everstake founder Sergii Vasylchuk stated that users always retain control of their digital assets during the staking process, without transferring ownership of the assets to a third party. Therefore, staking is more similar to the basic technical functionality of a blockchain network rather than an investment product.

According to the legal opinion submitted by Everstake, non-custodial staking does not meet the four criteria of an "investment contract" in the Howey test: users do not invest funds in a common enterprise, do not expect to profit from the efforts of others, do not rely on the management actions of the service provider, and staking rewards are automatically distributed by the blockchain protocol. Therefore, it is recommended to issue clear guidelines to confirm that non-custodial staking does not constitute a securities offering, in order to promote blockchain innovation and reduce regulatory uncertainty. As of now, the U.S. SEC has not yet taken a clear position on this, but has stated that it will continue to listen to industry opinions.