What can we look forward to in the crypto market after the SEC and CFTC join forces?

Original Title: Crypto Just Got Its Rulebook. Here’s Why That’s Only Half the Story.

Original Author: Crypto Unfiltered

Translation: Peggy, BlockBeats

Editor’s Note: On March 17, the SEC and the CFTC jointly released an interpretive document, clarifying for the first time that most crypto assets are not securities and establishing a relatively clear classification framework. This change means that the biggest long-standing “uncertainty variable” in the crypto industry is being removed—regulation is no longer a risk hanging over everyone’s heads, but a ruleset that can be understood and adapted to.

But as the piece emphasizes, regulatory clarity is only a prerequisite, not the real turning point.

In terms of market performance, after Bitcoin reached historic highs, it moved into a period of range-bound trading, reflecting the current core tension: the infrastructure for institutions to enter is already in place, but capital allocation hasn’t truly happened yet; retail sentiment remains somewhat cautious, and the market lacks new force to drive a sustained trend.

At the same time, a more important shift is brewing. On-chain assets, represented by stablecoins and tokenized Treasuries, are growing rapidly; traditional financial assets are gradually being “moved on-chain,” even evolving toward tokenization of stocks. When assets themselves begin to be digitized, the boundary between traditional investment portfolios and crypto assets is also starting to fade.

So what’s truly worth watching isn’t the rules themselves, but where the money flows after the rules are implemented—especially when wealth management institutions begin making large-scale allocations.

The rules are already in place, and the path is gradually getting clearer. Next is the stage where the real game begins.

The following is the original text:

On March 17, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) jointly released a guidance document that runs 68 pages, officially classifying most crypto assets as non-securities. Among them, 16 tokens, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and XRP, were explicitly recognized as digital commodities. After more than a decade, this is the first time U.S. developers, investors, and institutions have received the answers they’ve been waiting for—what the rules actually are.

This is undoubtedly a big deal. But if you think regulatory clarity itself is the most important event, you might be missing the point.

The more critical question is what will happen next. And the answer points to a corner of the financial system that most crypto investors rarely pay attention to: wealth management.

The Rulebook Finally Arrives

For years, the U.S. regulatory landscape can be summarized in one sentence: the SEC believes that almost everything is a security, and almost nobody has the ability to truly refute that, because the cost of confronting regulators is extremely high.

That era is ending. The CLARITY Act passed in the House last July with cross-party support of 294 to 134; the GENIUS Act provides a clear framework for stablecoins; and now, with the SEC and CFTC’s joint guidance, a formal token classification system has been introduced—distinguishing digital commodities, digital securities, and assets in between.

The guidance also proposes the so-called attach-and-detach principle: a token may be deemed a security in the early fundraising stage, but once the project operates independently, that attribute can be removed. In other words, project teams now have a compliance path that previously existed only at the theoretical level.

What matters most here is not the technical details, but the signal itself. For the first time, regulators are answering questions directly rather than dodging them. This opens the door for a wave of compliance-driven capital that had been waiting because the rules were unclear.

Why Bitcoin Is Stuck in a Range

Meanwhile, Bitcoin is in a wait-and-see mode. After breaking the historic high of $109,000 earlier this year and holding within a six-figure range for most of 2025, the price pulled back, gradually searching for a new equilibrium. The macro environment has played the dominant role in that.

But the deeper issue lies in structural factors. Spot Bitcoin ETFs have already absorbed a large amount of supply, but the vast majority of holders are still retail investors, not institutions. According to CoinShares data, as of Q1 2025, institutional holders (13-F filers) held about $21 billion in Bitcoin ETF exposure, down from $27 billion in the prior quarter. At the same time, even though corporate treasuries have begun allocating to Bitcoin, the average allocation percentage on the investment advisor side is still not even 1% of a portfolio.

That’s the key tension right now: the infrastructure institutions need to enter has basically been built, but the actual allocation behavior hasn’t occurred yet.

Retail capital that historically fueled crypto bull markets is also largely absent. Overall market sentiment remains cautious, and the cycle of fear and greed has not yet entered a sustained euphoric phase—which is often the signal that the market is topping out. Until retail returns or institutions genuinely add more, prices will likely stay range-bound and remain highly sensitive to macro changes.

The $1 Trillion Blind Spot Most People Overlook

What most people underestimate is this part of the story.

The global wealth management industry manages roughly $1 trillion in assets, and the overwhelming majority of them are still allocated within traditional investment portfolios. The classic 60/40 model (60% stocks + 40% bonds) has been the default allocation for decades.

But this model is facing real pressure. Against a backdrop of interest-rate uncertainty, geopolitical turmoil, and the long-term trend of fiat currency depreciation, the rationale for holding large portions of bonds is rapidly weakening. Gold has already responded to this, and so has Bitcoin. And the assumption of a 40% bond allocation—which for a long time has been treated as a given—is quietly becoming one of the most questioned parts of modern portfolios.

However, the wealth management industry’s response has been slow. Most registered investment advisers (RIAs) still manage portfolios that are almost the same as those from five years ago. This isn’t because they believe crypto assets lack value; it’s because the compliance framework, platform capabilities, and client education still lag behind reality.

But this situation is changing. The focus of discussion has moved from “What is Bitcoin?” to “How do I provide clients with these kinds of assets under compliant conditions?” Demand is real, and the infrastructure to meet that demand is being built—right now.

Tokenization Is the Next Key Chapter

Tokenization is the next key chapter. The tokenization scale of real-world assets (RWA) has grown from about $5 billion in 2022 to more than $24 billion today—a 380% increase over three years. Private credit is the dominant category, followed by tokenized U.S. Treasuries. Multiple large institutions, including BlackRock, Franklin Templeton, and Goldman Sachs, have already started issuing tokenized products on public blockchains.

Next comes tokenization of stocks. Robinhood launched tokenized versions of U.S. equities for European users in 2025. As regulatory frameworks become clearer, similar products are likely to enter the U.S. market. Once this process unfolds, the boundary 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 7×24 hours, can be used as collateral in decentralized lending protocols, can be held, staked, and borrowed—and even transferred without relying on exchanges and clearing-and-settlement delays. This isn’t a distant fantasy; it’s the direction the entire financial system is moving toward.

What to Watch Next

Regulatory clarity is certainly important, but it should be treated as a prerequisite rather than a true catalyst. The real inflection point will come when wealth management institutions begin allocating clients’ funds at scale—and that moment has not arrived yet.

Before then, macro factors remain the key variables. The liquidity environment, the strength of the dollar, and interest-rate expectations are still the core factors influencing Bitcoin’s price in the short term. The logic of fundamentals is continually building, but when the price will respond remains uncertain.

The rules are already written. Next, it’s time to get on the field.