SEC staff say unaffiliated governance voters generally are not a controlling group

SEC staff issued new guidance indicating that unaffiliated governance voters generally should not be treated as a controlling 'group,' addressing token voting, governance housed in foundations, and powers such as reversing transactions. The answers bind no one and name no specific project, so they are interpretive rather than enforceable rules. For crypto traders, the guidance reduces a key legal overhang for token governance and DeFi projects, since coordinated voters may avoid being classified as a controlling group.