PUMP
+10.1%SEC staff says functional network token buybacks are not managerial efforts
Image: DecryptThe SEC's Division of Corporation Finance updated its crypto FAQs. Staff said announcing a token buyback for a functional network does not amount to a promise of essential managerial efforts under the Howey test. If a network is not functional and a buyback is pitched as yield or returns, securities laws can still apply. Crypto projects spent about $638 million on buybacks through late August 2026, a record, with Hyperliquid and Pump.fun close to 90% of the total.
Key points
- SEC's Division of Corporation Finance updated its crypto FAQs to address token buybacks.
- Staff said a token buyback announcement for a functional network is not a promise of essential managerial efforts.
- The Howey test for investment contracts is central to the SEC staff's analysis.
- Hyperliquid is among protocols with token buyback activity.
Why it matters
The staff position affects how projects with functional networks can buy back tokens without meeting the Howey test's managerial efforts standard. Nonfunctional networks that pitch buybacks as yield or returns can still face securities laws.
What's unclear
The reports give different Pump.fun figures: about $462.5 million in cumulative purchases and 16.8% of supply destroyed versus $451 million burned and 16.6% of supply.
Price context · HYPE
At publication
$90.36
Now
$88.65
Change since
−1.89%
7 days · dashed line = publication
Sources · 2 publishers
Decrypt
Tier 1
Morning Minute: SEC Clears Token Buybacks for Crypto Networks
Coverage timeline
- First reported by CryptoSlate
- Confirmed by Decrypt
- CryptoVideos brief published
How this brief was made. Our system found this event in 2 independent publications, summarised two complete reports with AI and checked every number above against the source text. Sources are linked in full. Not financial advice. Report an error
