According to @iampaulgrewal, the SEC Chairman delivered a history lesson on Howey in the Hills, highlighting the framework used to assess investment contracts under U.S. securities law. Source: @iampaulgrewal on X, Nov 12, 2025. He relays the line “Promises may not remain forever” and argues that when those promises end, an asset’s status as an investment contract should also end, underscoring the potential for time-based changes in classification that market participants track. Source: @iampaulgrewal on X, Nov 12, 2025. The Howey test defining investment contracts originates from the U.S. Supreme Court case SEC v. W. J. Howey Co. in 1946, which provides the legal basis for evaluating whether certain arrangements involve an investment of money in a common enterprise with an expectation of profit from the efforts of others. Source: U.S. Supreme Court, SEC v. W. J. Howey Co., 1946.

According to the dYdX Foundation, adopting a usage-based structure for its token is a strategic move to influence its classification under the European Union's Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation. The foundation states that this model is designed to distance the DYDX token from being viewed as a speculative asset, instead aligning it more closely with an infrastructure-like utility token, which could have significant implications for its regulatory treatment and market accessibility within the EU.