SEC changes token buyback guidance as spending hits $638M

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The US Securities and Exchange Commission tightened its guidance for crypto token buybacks just three days after publishing it.

On Sept. 25, SEC staff said a token issuer could announce a buyback without that announcement being treated as a promise to manage the token's value, as long as the crypto system was already functional. On Sept. 28, the agency changed that answer by adding another condition: the system must also have “no central party.”

It represents an important change to the guidance, as many crypto projects use buybacks while still giving people, companies, or committees some control over how those purchases happen.

The SEC staff's updated answer now says that a buyback announcement for a non-security crypto asset would not, by itself, amount to a promise of essential managerial efforts when the system is both functional and has no central party.

If the system is not yet functional, the SEC staff says a buyback announcement could count as such a promise if the issuer presents the purchases as a way to generate yield or returns for holders.

The change comes as token buybacks have become increasingly important across crypto. Crypto projects spent a record $638 million on token buybacks through late August, according to previous CryptoSlate reporting.