Yes that can be part of it, though there does seem to be some grey area because that "income" is more cryptocurrency (as opposed to fiat money) and some of it is locked up for 13 weeks (SP). There are arguments that both support and refute the above as security tokens when using/applying the Howey Test. It would be great to have Steemit,Inc chime in.

Bitcoin and Ethereum have both been deemed not securities and Ethereum is moving to POS as well...