#创作者冲榜 What Should We Expect from the Crypto Market After the SEC and CFTC Join Forces?
On March 17, the SEC and CFTC jointly released an interpretive guidance document, officially clarifying for the first time that most crypto assets are not securities, establishing a relatively clear classification framework. This change means that the crypto industry's longest-standing "uncertainty variable" is being eliminated, and regulation is no longer a risk hanging overhead, but rather a rule system that can be understood and adapted to.
However, regulatory clarity is merely a prerequisite, not the true inflection point.
From a market performance perspective, Bitcoin has entered a range-bound trading pattern following its historical highs, reflecting the core contradiction at present: the infrastructure for institutional entry is already in place, but capital allocation has not yet truly occurred; retail sentiment remains cautious, and the market lacks new driving forces for trend development.
At the same time, a more important change is brewing. Chain-based assets represented by stablecoins and tokenized Treasury debt are developing rapidly, traditional financial assets are gradually being "moved on-chain," and are even evolving toward stock tokenization. As assets themselves begin to digitize, the boundary between traditional investment portfolios and crypto assets is gradually disappearing.
Therefore, what truly deserves attention is not the rules themselves, but the flow of capital after rules are implemented—especially in wealth management!
When Will Institutions Begin Large-Scale Allocation
Rules are clear, paths are gradually becoming evident. Next comes the phase when this game truly begins.
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On March 17, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) jointly released a 68-page guidance document, formally classifying most crypto assets as non-securities. Among them, 16 tokens including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and XRP were explicitly identified as digital commodities. For the first time in over a decade, American developers, investors, and institutions have received the answer they've been waiting for—what exactly are the rules?
This is undoubtedly significant. But if you believe that regulatory clarity itself is the most important event, you may have missed the real point.
The more critical question is what happens next. And the answer points to a corner of the financial system that most crypto investors rarely pay attention to: wealth management.
The Rules Manual Has Finally Arrived!
For years, the American regulatory landscape could be summed up in one sentence: the SEC believes almost everything is a security, and almost no one has the power to truly challenge it, because the cost of confronting regulators is extremely high.
That era is ending. The CLARITY Act passed the House last July with bipartisan support of 294-134 votes; the GENIUS Act provided a clear framework for stablecoins; and now, the SEC and CFTC's joint guidance further introduces a formal token classification system, distinguishing between digital commodities, digital securities, and assets in between.
The guidance also introduced the so-called attach-and-detach principle: a token may be classified as a security during an early fundraising stage, but once a project achieves independent operation, this attribute can be removed. In other words, project teams now have a compliance pathway that previously existed only in theory.
What matters most here is not the technical details, but the signal itself. Regulators are answering questions directly for the first time, rather than avoiding them. This opens the door to a wave of compliant capital that was previously waiting due to unclear rules.
Why Bitcoin Has Entered Range-Bound Trading
Meanwhile, Bitcoin is in a state of hesitation. Following its breakthrough to a historical high of $109,000 earlier this year and maintaining six-figure levels for most of 2025, prices have pulled back and are gradually seeking new equilibrium.
The macro environment plays a dominant role in this.
But the deeper issue lies in structural factors. Spot Bitcoin ETFs have absorbed significant supply, but the vast majority of holders are still retail investors, not institutions. According to CoinShares data, as of Q1 2025, institutional (13-F filers) Bitcoin ETF exposure was approximately $21 billion, down from $27 billion in the previous quarter. Meanwhile, despite corporations beginning to allocate Bitcoin to treasuries, the average allocation ratio on the advisor side still accounts for less than 1% of investment portfolios.
This is precisely the tension at present: the infrastructure necessary for institutional entry has been essentially completed, but true allocation behavior has yet to occur.
The retail capital that historically drove crypto bull markets is currently largely absent. Overall market sentiment is cautious, and the fear-and-greed cycle has not yet entered a sustained euphoria phase—which is usually a signal of market tops.
Before retail investors return or institutions truly increase positions, prices will likely remain in a range-bound pattern and maintain high sensitivity to macro changes.
The Neglected $100 Trillion Blind Spot!
What most people underestimate is this part of the story.
The global wealth management industry manages approximately $100 trillion in assets, and the vast majority is still allocated in traditional investment portfolios. The classic 60/40 model (60% stocks + 40% bonds) has been the default allocation for decades.
But this model is facing material pressure. Against a backdrop of interest rate uncertainty, geopolitical turmoil, and long-term fiat currency depreciation, the rationale for holding a large proportion of bonds is rapidly weakening. Gold has already responded to this, as has Bitcoin. And the 40% bond allocation—long taken for granted—is quietly becoming one of the most questioned assumptions in modern portfolios.
Yet the wealth management industry's response remains slow. Most registered investment advisors (RIAs) are still managing investment portfolios nearly identical to those from five years ago. This is not because they believe crypto assets have no value, but because compliance frameworks, platform capabilities, and client education still lag behind reality.
But this is changing. The discussion has shifted from "what is Bitcoin?" to "how can I provide these assets to clients in compliance?" The demand is real, and the infrastructure to meet it is gradually being built as we speak.
Tokenization is the Key Chapter
Tokenization is the key chapter ahead. The scale of real-world asset (RWA) tokenization has grown from approximately $5 billion in 2022 to over $24 billion today, a 380% increase over three years. Private credit dominates, followed by tokenized US Treasuries. Major institutions including BlackRock, Franklin Templeton, and Goldman Sachs have already begun issuing tokenized products on public blockchains.
The next step is stock tokenization. Robinhood launched a tokenized version of US stocks for European users in 2025. As regulatory frameworks become clearer, similar products may enter the US market. Once this process unfolds, the line between traditional brokerage accounts and crypto wallets will begin to disappear. Whether investors realize it or not, every portfolio will gradually evolve into a digital asset portfolio.
These assets can trade 24/7, serve as collateral in decentralized lending protocols, be held, staked, lent out, or transferred without clearing houses and settlement delays. This is not distant imagination, but the direction the entire financial system is moving toward.
What to Focus on Next
While regulatory clarity is important, it should be viewed as a prerequisite condition rather than the true catalyst. The real inflection point will appear when wealth management institutions begin large-scale allocation of client funds—and that moment has not yet arrived.
Until then, macro factors remain key variables.
The liquidity environment, dollar strength, and interest rate expectations remain core factors affecting Bitcoin's price in the near term.
Fundamental logic is continuing to accumulate, but when price responds remains uncertain.
The rules have been written. Next, it's time to take the field.
