Massive: Howey Test has been challenged! New SEC guidance announced today: “Where a crypto system is functional and has no central party, an issuer’s announcement of a non-security crypto asset buyback program would not constitute a representation or promise to undertake essential managerial efforts.” The SEC Division of Corporation Finance revised its crypto-asset FAQs (originally issued Sept. 25) on Sept. 28, 2026. The change that matches the headline is in Question 2.5: staff added the phrase “and has no central party.” If the system is not functional and the issuer frames the buyback as creating yield or return for holders, the analysis can still go the other way. What this actually means • The Howey “efforts of others” prong is the focus. On a live, decentralized network with no central actor who can make or break the system, announcing a buyback (treasury management, supply reduction, protocol burns, rebalancing, etc.) is not treated as a new promise of essential managerial efforts.