Part one of a 2026 legal guide explains how U.S. securities law is applied to crypto mainly through the Howey “investment contract” framework rather than a digital-asset-specific statute. It outlines the four Howey elements and describes how courts assess token sales by focusing on economic reality, marketing, and issuer conduct. The report also highlights the growing distinction between a token and the investment contract that may arise from how it is offered or sold.

In Q1 2026, Bitcoin's average network hashrate fell from about 985 EH/s in Q4 2025 to 873 EH/s, even as several public miners reallocated fleets toward AI and HPC use cases. Across 10 large miners tracked, combined realized hashrate edged down from roughly 297 EH/s to 291 EH/s, masking sharp cuts at some firms and aggressive expansion at others.

On Mar. 29, 2026, a Kelman.Law commentary recapped late-March legal shifts spanning tokenized securities, exchange licensing, and cross-border enforcement. Highlights included the SEC approving Nasdaq's plan to enable tokenized trading of certain equities and ETFs, plus Hong Kong's warning to platforms that licensing deadlines could trigger enforcement. The piece also flagged Nigeria's tax-evasion case involving Binance executives, U.S. scrutiny after an SEC enforcement leadership resignation, proposed Labor Department guidance on crypto in 401(k)s, and federal-state clashes over prediction-market oversight.