The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's crypto task force sympathised with concerns raised by Ripple over the CLARITY Act and said applying securities laws based only on speculation is excessive.

The SEC is reviewing a new classification system for digital assets.

Against that backdrop, Ripple said in a submission filed on 9 that it is inappropriate to apply securities laws based only on speculative holdings. Theresa Goody Guillén, a digital asset regulation lawyer, said in the submission posted on the SEC website that Ripple's argument is valid. She said simply expecting a price rise should not become subject to securities regulation.

Guillén proposed classifying digital assets as "Digital Value Instruments" if they do not clearly fit into existing securities or commodities categories. The criteria include free tradability, speculative economic gain, limited contractual rights, systemic dependence and characteristics that prevent control over value fluctuations. She also stressed the need for federal safeguards to clarify SEC and Commodity Futures Trading Commission jurisdiction and prevent conflicts with state laws.

The SEC and CFTC are scheduled to hold a joint meeting on 29 to coordinate digital asset regulation. The meeting was originally planned for 27 but was postponed due to severe weather, and will also include a dialogue between SEC Chair Paul Atkins and CFTC Chair Mike Selick.