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The SEC in the United States is making new announcements to bring greater clarity to the cryptocurrency sector, aiming to eliminate confusion. A similar announcement regarding meme coins had been previously shared. This regulatory clarity is vital for cryptocurrency companies to continue their operations securely. What are the SEC’s thoughts on mining?
Cryptocurrency Mining and SEC’s Position
SEC published a statement clarifying that mining under the PoW mechanism and mining pool activities do not constitute the offering of securities. The announcement emphasizes the need for the continuity of mining for the maintenance of the network’s existence.
“This statement specifically addresses the mining of crypto assets used and/or earned to participate in and maintain the technological operation and security of a public, non-permissioned network.” – SEC (March 20, 2025)
Thus, the primary focus is on PoW mining, detailing the characteristics of this mechanism. Simply put, miners solve cryptographic puzzles with special mining devices (or much less efficiently with regular computers), add blocks that validate transactions to the network, and essentially keep the network alive.
Mining and Its Legal Status
They will likely address the PoS issue in another announcement; hence, today’s announcement focuses on PoW miners like Bitcoin 
$84,222 mining. For PoW, the SEC states that mining does not fall under the category of securities or investment contracts.
“Protocol mining activities cannot be classified as securities under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933.”
Mining does not meet the investment contract test (the famous Howey test), and the reasons are explained as follows:
- Miners do not profit based on the efforts or managerial efforts of others.
- The cryptocurrency rewards earned by miners result directly from their technical contributions.
- In mining pools, miners receive rewards for contributing to the validation process, while pool operators only take on administrative tasks.
“Furthermore, the operational activities of a pool operator using the combined computational resources of participating miners are essentially administrative in nature.” – SEC (March 20, 2025)
Thus, both company mining operations and individual mining activities will not be considered under the securities framework. Consequently, miners are not required to register with the U.S. SEC.
