If an asset is recognized as a security under the Howey test, then it falls under the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
There is a theory that the SEC sees signs of securities in cryptocurrencies that work on the Proof-of-Stake (PoS) algorithm. The point is that such coins allow you to make money from steaking. Amid the move of Ethereum's second most capitalized coin to PoS, members of the cryptocommunity have started talking about possible regulatory pressure on the project.