What Is the Howey Test, and Why Does It Decide Whether Your Crypto Token Is a Security?

August 7, 2026

Let’s get straight to the point – the Howey Test is a four-part legal check that U.S. courts and the SEC use to decide whether something is an “investment contract,” and therefore a security. It comes from a 1946 Supreme Court case, SEC v. W.J. Howey Co. What does it say? An ass…