Bitwise Asset Management and the Hyperliquid Policy Center are pressing the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to revise its proposed crypto rules, seeking clearer guidance on token classifications, airdrops and secondary-market trading in comment letters submitted Monday.

The appeals come as the SEC closes public comments Tuesday on its proposed Regulation Crypto Assets, a framework that would create exemptions for qualifying crypto fundraising and a conditional safe harbor for tokens associated with investment contracts. The proposal is docketed under file number S7-2026-27. The Tuesday deadline ends the formal window for outside input, a standard step in United States federal rulemaking in which the agency weighs public submissions before deciding a proposal’s fate.

In an Oct. 19 comment letter, Bitwise Asset Management urged the SEC to clarify how investment managers should determine whether a crypto asset is subject to securities laws, arguing that managers need a standard they can apply using “publicly available information.” The classification carries practical consequences for asset managers, since tokens deemed securities trigger compliance obligations that other digital assets do not.

The firm also sought clearer rules on when managers may rely on an issuer’s proposed Form TR filing, which would certify that an investment contract has ceased to exist, and on how they should assess tokens when no such filing exists.

In a separate submission, the Hyperliquid Policy Center urged the SEC to broaden its proposed safe harbor, arguing that it could arrive too late in a project’s development. The group called for clearer protections for airdrops that reward network participation, as well as guidance on token buybacks. Airdrops and buybacks are common mechanisms through which crypto projects distribute tokens and manage circulating supply.

Hyperliquid also warned that the proposal “fails to provide clarity” on whether unregistered intermediaries can facilitate token trading or whether tokens can trade freely through onchain protocols. It urged the SEC to address secondary-market transactions directly rather than leaving exchanges and decentralized trading venues facing regulatory uncertainty.

Related: House Finance panel chair says regulator actions on crypto ‘fall short’ of CLARITY bill

SEC proposal faces legal and protection objections

While industry participants sought changes to the proposed rules, former SEC enforcement official John Reed Stark and Duke University finance scholar Lee Reiners took a different position altogether. In an Oct. 16 comment letter, they urged the commission to withdraw the proposal entirely, arguing that it exceeds the agency’s statutory authority and would weaken investor protections.

Stark and Reiners said that existing securities laws and the Supreme Court’s Howey test — the 1946 precedent that established when a transaction qualifies as an investment contract — already provide a framework for regulating crypto offerings. They argued that the fundraising exemptions would weaken investor protections, while the proposed safe harbor would allow issuers to effectively remove their tokens from securities oversight through self-certification.

The two also warned that adopting the rules in substantially their current form would invite an immediate legal challenge, potentially resulting in the framework being struck down.

With the public comment period closing Tuesday, the SEC will review the submissions before deciding whether to revise, adopt or withdraw the proposed rules. The commission has not announced a timetable for a final decision, and any final rule would require a commission vote before taking effect.

Related coverage: Cointelegraph Magazine examined whether the SEC and CFTC’s pro-crypto rules can be overturned.