The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) Division of Corporation Finance, in new FAQs published Friday, stated that announcing a token buyback program on a functional crypto system does not constitute a promise of "essential managerial efforts," a key component of the Howey test for determining if something is an investment contract and thus a security. However, for networks that are not yet functional, a buyback announcement could cross the line if the issuer pitches it as generating yield or returns for holders. Gabriel Shapiro, a corporate securities attorney, commented that the guidance "goes further than I expected," making securities laws look "opt-in" as applied by the SEC to crypto. The FAQs, which carry no legal force, build on the SEC's March interpretive release and its Regulation Crypto Assets proposal. SEC Chair Paul Atkins had signaled in July that the agency would step in if the Clarity Act failed in the Senate, which it did.