Security, commodity, or something else
One of the longest-running debates in crypto regulation is how a given crypto asset should legally be classified. Broadly, regulators around the world have reached for existing categories, most commonly asking whether a token behaves like a security, an investment contract sold with an expectation of profit from the efforts of others, or like a commodity, more akin to a raw tradeable good. Some jurisdictions have introduced entirely new categories specific to digital assets rather than forcing them into either box.
This classification question isn't just academic. Which category an asset falls into determines which regulator has authority over it, what disclosure and registration requirements apply, and what obligations a project issuing or trading that asset takes on. A token treated as a security typically faces a much heavier compliance burden than one treated as a commodity or as a fully decentralized utility asset with no clear issuer.