Former SEC lawyer backs Ripple concerns on Clarity Act in public SEC submission

In a letter posted to the SEC Crypto Task Force page, Guillen argued that holding what she described as a passive economic interest, such as buying a token in hopes its price rises, should not by itself trigger securities regulation. She said digital assets should instead be evaluated using a broader set of factors applied on a sliding scale.

Guillen wrote that approaches treating passive economic interest as sufficient for securities treatment risk conflating speculation with investment rights, echoing a point raised in Ripple’s submission on 9 January 2026. She also noted that her comments do not set out a binding framework and do not reflect official SEC policy.

Separately, Guillen circulated a discussion draft titled the Digital Markets Restructure Act of 2026, which she said has not been approved by leadership at the SEC or the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The draft proposes a new category, Digital Value Instruments, for certain crypto assets that do not fit existing securities or commodities definitions, and would apply the label when an asset meets at least three of five characteristics, including free transferability and limited individual contractual rights for holders.

The submissions were published ahead of a joint SEC and CFTC meeting scheduled for 29 January 2026 on regulatory coordination for digital assets, which was postponed from 27 January 2026. The agenda includes a fireside chat with SEC Chair Paul Atkins and CFTC Chair Mike Selig. The U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee also delayed a planned markup for the market structure bill after a severe winter storm hit the United States.