Michael Saylor, CEO of cryptocurrency investment firm Strategy, is advocating for the U.S. government to establish a formal classification system for digital assets, known as a “crypto taxonomy.” He believes this would provide crucial market clarification regarding tokenized securities.
Speaking during Strategy’s second-quarter earnings call, Saylor commented, “My opinion is it would be beneficial to the market if they nail down the digital assets taxonomy.”
He posed several key questions the taxonomy should address: “Under what circumstances can you tokenize a security? What’s a digital security? If they can clarify a digital commodity, what’s an asset without an issuer versus a digital token?”
The proposal comes amidst the crypto industry’s long-standing legal disputes with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) concerning the classification of cryptocurrency assets. The SEC has established a dedicated Crypto Task Force to tackle these regulatory uncertainties.
White House and SEC Push for Clarity
Saylor’s comments align with recent actions by the White House. The White House Working Group on Digital Asset Markets urged federal regulators on Wednesday to expedite clarification on crypto rules related to custody, trading, registration, and record-keeping.
Meanwhile, SEC Chair Gary Gensler addressed the competition issue in a Thursday speech. He acknowledged that much of the tokenization innovation is occurring outside the U.S. due to regulatory ambiguity. However, he noted companies are approaching the SEC, stating he has instructed staff to “provide relief where appropriate” to maintain U.S. competitiveness.
Legislation Under Review
Congressional efforts are also underway. A bill, the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act of 2025, is being prepared for September review. Saylor expressed optimism about this legislation, suggesting it would create a “very rich framework” enabling businesses to tokenize assets efficiently.
He envisioned a future where “40,000,000 businesses would be able to issue a token in four hours for $40,” stating the ideal scenario.
Robinhood’s Tokenization Strategy
Financial platform Robinhood (Robinhood) is aggressively pursuing tokenization, specifically targeting access to private markets for retail investors. CEO Vladimir Tenev highlighted these efforts during the firm’s quarterly earnings call.
“Private markets and related real-world assets are opportunities that don’t exist up until now,” Tenev stated, adding the company is collaborating with regulators “to make that possible.”
Robinhood has already introduced private equity tokens in Europe modeled after companies like OpenAI and SpaceX. However, its tokenization initiatives have triggered regulatory scrutiny in Lithuania, while OpenAI issued a warning regarding specific tokens not representing actual corporate equity.
