A Securities and Exchange Commission probe into the developers of  non-fungible tokens and the marketplaces that sell them poses ramifications for several creator economy startups. At least nine in The Information’s Creator Economy Database are focused on these NFTs, which became wildly popular collectible and trading assets last year. An SEC action that forces NFTs to follow securities law would dampen the NFT frenzy—though some startup founders are hopeful any potential rule would not extend to the way creators have begun to use NFTs, say for access to exclusive content. 

To recap: The SEC is investigating whether the developers or sellers of some NFTs are raising money the same way traditional securities are, which would subject them to regulations, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter. SEC attorneys have reached out to various crypto exchanges and NFT creators to ask for more information, the report says.