The Securities and Exchange Commission rarely gives out hall passes. Yet on Monday, the agency quietly slipped a note to a small crypto company, telling them to carry on. No fireworks, no press conference. Just a letter.
- The SEC issued a rare “no-action” letter to Fuse Crypto Limited, signaling that its Division of Corporation Finance will not recommend enforcement against the offering of its FUSE token. This action is a significant, though highly specific, regulatory nod for a project focused on green energy rewards.
- Fuse’s FUSE token rewards users for practical actions like installing solar panels or using EV chargers at optimal times to help decongest the electricity grid. The company successfully argued this utility distinguishes the token from a security under the Howey test.
- This decision suggests a potential regulatory path for tokens tied to real-world utility rather than pure speculation, aligning with a broader, warmer tone from the SEC under the current administration toward clearer digital asset frameworks.
The company is Fuse Crypto Limited. The project involves a token that rewards people for using green energy. And the letter, known as a “no-action” letter, is a fascinating signal in the long, tense conversation between crypto and its regulators.
It’s the regulatory equivalent of a quiet nod. It means the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance won’t recommend an enforcement action against Fuse for offering its FUSE token. For a project trying to build in the U.S., that’s about as good as it gets.
This isn’t a blanket approval for all of crypto. Far from it. The SEC was very specific. “This position is based on the representations made to the Division in your letter,” the agency stated. They added a crucial warning. “Any different facts or conditions might require the Division to reach a different conclusion.”
In other words, the SEC gave a green light, but they’re keeping a hand on the emergency brake.
A Token for Your Rooftop
So what does Fuse actually do? They aren’t building a new metaverse or a decentralized casino. They operate in the physical world of electricity grids, solar panels, and electric vehicle chargers.
Fuse installs green tech for its customers. The company explained in its letter to the SEC that it uses blockchain to help “decongest the electricity grid.” It’s a practical problem. When everyone runs their air conditioning at once, the grid strains. When solar panels generate a surplus, that energy needs to go somewhere.
The FUSE token is designed as an incentive. Customers can earn tokens by installing rooftop solar setups or using their EV chargers at smart times. It’s a reward for helping the system run more smoothly.
As Fuse put it, the tokens offer a “flexible, scalable consumptive rewards system that benefits both users and the energy infrastructure.” Think of it less like buying a stock and more like earning airline miles for helping the plane fly more efficiently.
This distinction is everything. It’s the heart of the argument that kept the SEC’s lawyers at bay.
The Orange Grove Test
Every crypto project that wants to operate in America lives in the shadow of a 1946 Supreme Court case. It involved Florida orange groves, of all things. The case gave us the Howey test, a legal yardstick the SEC uses to decide if something is an “investment contract,” and therefore a security.
The test has a few parts, but the core question is simple. Are you putting money into a common enterprise with a reasonable expectation of profits to be derived from the efforts of others? If the answer is yes, you’re likely dealing with a security.
Many crypto tokens fail this test spectacularly. People buy them, hoping a team of developers will work hard, build hype, and make the token’s price go up. That sounds a lot like an investment contract.
Fuse argued their token was different. In their letter, they stated their case plainly. They believe the FUSE token is not a security because “consumers will earn Tokens for their own consumption and not based on a reasonable expectation of profit from the efforts of Fuse or others.”
You earn it for doing something useful. You don’t buy it hoping the Fuse CEO will make you rich. It’s a subtle line, but in the eyes of securities law, it makes all the difference. The SEC, for now, seems to agree.
This isn’t the first time we’ve seen this. Just a few months ago, in September, a DePIN project called DoubleZero received a similar letter for its 2Z token. Two data points don’t make a trend, but they certainly make you look twice.
It suggests a potential path for projects that tie their tokens to real, tangible actions rather than pure speculation. The key seems to be utility that you can hold in your hand, or at least see on your power bill.
This all fits into a broader, noticeable shift. The SEC under the Trump administration has taken a much warmer tone toward the digital asset industry. The agency has hosted crypto roundtables and started “Project Crypto” to rethink its old rules for this new technology.
Earlier this month, SEC Chair Paul Atkins even announced plans for a “token taxonomy.” The goal is to draw clearer lines between different types of cryptocurrencies. A clear framework would be a game-changer, replacing the current guessing game with actual rules of the road.
For years, the industry has asked for clarity. It seems someone is finally starting to sketch a map. Fuse Crypto just became a small, but important, landmark on it.
