Ethereum
Bitcoin and Ethereum Are Not Securities, CFTC Chairman Says
- CFTC Chairman Rostin Behnam said an Illinois court has confirmed that Bitcoin and Ethereum are digital commodities.
- Behnam said cryptocurrencies are commodities under the Commodity Exchange Act.
- Bitcoin and Ethereum held above key support levels, with BTC trading above $57,000 and Ether above $3,000 on Wednesday.
Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chairman Rostin Behnam spoke at the Senate committee hearing, saying that 70 to 80 percent of cryptocurrencies are not securities.
Behnam spoke about the crypto asset class amid the ongoing debate within the crypto community and the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) lawsuits facing crypto companies and exchanges.
Bitcoin and Ethereum are not securities
Whether it is cryptocurrencies like BitcoinEthereum and several other altcoins have been hotly debated securities for years. The SEC is suing exchanges like Coinbase for unregistered and counterfeit securities sales. Ripple The sale of unregistered securities (XRP tokens) has intensified the debate among market participants.
The CFTC Chairman ended the debate with his statements during a Senate committee hearing Wednesday morning. Behnam said that 70 to 80 percent of cryptocurrencies are not securities. Behnam addressed the asset class and his statements clarified the issue.
During the hearing, Behnam said that Bitcoin and Ethereum are both commodities, and referred to a summary judgment from an Illinois district court. The CFTC chairman said the judgment
“reaffirmed that Bitcoin and Ether are both commodities within the meaning of the Commodity Exchange Act.”
Behnam responded to the question of whether cryptocurrency regulation should be handled by the SEC or the CFTC. When Senator Roger Marshall brought up the turf war between the SEC and CFTC over which digital assets are securities and which are commodities, he asked, “Wouldn’t it be simpler to put all of this under the CFTC’s jurisdiction?”
To which the CFTC chairman responded: “I speak for myself, but I would be happy to do so. I think we have the expertise and the capacity.”
Bitcoin and Ethereum broke through key support levels on Wednesday, with BTC trading at $57,560 and Ether above $3,000 at the time of writing.