Michael Saylor Calls on US Government to Create Formal Crypto Taxonomy

• Saylor emphasized the need for clear legal distinctions between digital securities, commodities, and tokens, particularly when securities can be tokenized
• Currently, many tokens remain in legal gray areas, especially around classification under securities laws
• SEC Chair Gary Gensler recently acknowledged that much tokenization innovation is happening overseas because of US uncertainty, but stated that companies are lining up to request tokenization permission

During MicroStrategy’s Q2 2025 earnings call, Michael Saylor (co-founder and former CEO of the company) urged the US government to create a formal crypto taxonomy, stating that a lack of clear definitions is a major barrier to innovation and institutional adoption.

He emphasized the need for clear legal distinctions between digital securities, commodities, and tokens, particularly when securities can be tokenized.

Saylor posed several questions such as “Under what circumstances can you tokenize a security?”, “What’s a digital security?”, “What’s an asset without an issuer?” as he argued that absence of such clarity creates regulatory confusion and pushes innovation offshore.

The former CEO had an interesting vision for the future. He stated that in an ideal world, 40 million businesses could issue a token in four hours for $40, reflecting ambitions for mass adoption.

Currently, many tokens remain in legal gray areas, especially around classification under securities laws.

The Digital Asset Market Clarity Act of 2025 (which was passed by the House of Representatives in July) is set to be reviewed by Congress in September. Its goal is to define when and how digital assets can be issued and traded, and Saylor called it a potentially rich framework that could enable businesses to issue tokens quickly and cheaply.

A collective call for clarity

Saylor isn’t the only one pushing for legislative action, since the White House Working Group on Digital Asset Markets has also urged regulators to accelerate rulemaking around custody, trading, registration, and record-keeping.

SEC Chair Gary Gensler recently acknowledged that much tokenization innovation is happening overseas because of US uncertainty, but stated that companies are lining up to request tokenization permission and that he’s directing staff to offer relief where appropriate.

A defined crypto taxonomy helps eliminate ambiguity, which is important because it clarifies what regulatory regime applies, under what conditions securities can be tokenized, and what constitutes issuer liability.

This clarity could unlock mass token issuance for real-world assets, private equity, and digital securities.

Saylor’s MicroStrategy remains the largest corporate Bitcoin holder, making his regulatory advocacy directly relevant to institutional adoption.