SEC and CFTC classify XRP as a digital commodity in March 17, 2026 taxonomy update
AI Market Summary
Joint SEC/CFTC taxonomy explicitly classifying XRP as a digital commodity, alongside the now-effective Torres framework after appeals were dropped, materially reduces U.S. legal overhang. While the CLARITY Act stalled, the SEC's Innovation Exemption signals regulatory momentum via agency action, supporting tokenized and permissioned onchain market infrastructure. Evernorth's disclosed plan to build institutional DeFi around XRP and expected large XRP holdings reinforces near-term institutional attention and liquidity focus.
Impact level
● High
Affected assets
XRP/USDT+6.98%
AI Insight · XRP/USDTAI Insight
▲ Bullish
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On March 17, 2026, the SEC and CFTC jointly issued a crypto taxonomy that explicitly placed XRP in the digital commodity category. The classification follows Judge Analisa Torres’ 2023 ruling separating XRP itself from the investment-contract circumstances tied to certain Ripple sales, after Ripple and the SEC dropped their appeals in August 2025, leaving the district-court rulings in place. Evernorth CEO Asheesh Birla said the CLARITY Act would be a catalyst for institutional DeFi adoption, and the company is building an institutional DeFi ecosystem around XRP. SEC filings show Evernorth expects to hold at least 473 million XRP at closing, with David Schwartz and Brad Garlinghouse listed as strategic advisers.
