CFTC Chair insists Ethereum is a commodity, not a security as claimed by SEC Chair – Regulation
The Chairman of Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has insisted that Ethereum is a commodity and not a security, according to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) chairman. The CFTC chief stressed that the derivatives regulator would not have allowed Ethereum futures products to be listed on CFTC-regulated exchanges “unless we had a strong feeling that it was a commodity stock.”
Ether is a commodity, claims CFTC chairman
Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chair Rostin Behnam addressed a claim by Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler at a Senate hearing that all crypto tokens except Bitcoin Securities are Committee on Agriculture, Food and Forestry on Wednesday.
During the hearing, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) asked Behnam, “Given Chairman Gensler’s recent proposal that all digital assets other than Bitcoin are securities, what does this mean for a number of specific contract markets? [DCMs] currently offering futures or swaps on Ethereum?” DCMs are exchanges that operate under the supervision of the CFTC.
“It would obviously raise questions about the legality of these DCMs, designated contract markets, listing these digital assets that are supposed to be securities,” the CFTC chair responded, repeating:
I have argued that Ethereum is a commodity.
Noting that ether-based products “have been listed on CFTC exchanges for quite some time,” Behnam said, “Because of this, it creates a very direct court hook for us to obviously oversee the derivatives market, but also the underlying market.” ”
He continued: “The process by which an exchange or DCM lists a contract is very clear under our law. You could seek Commission approval [CFTC] or they could certify a product themselves. This self-certification process shifts responsibility to both the CFTC and the market participant.”
The CFTC chief further explained why he firmly believes Ethereum is a commodity. “I would say that serious and in-depth legal analysis goes into the thought process before any product is self-certified, so I have no doubt, and having known this and been on the commission when Ethereum futures were listed, that both the exchange and the commission thought very deeply and thoughtfully, ‘what is the product?’ and ‘Does it fall under the commodity regime or the security regime?’” He emphasized:
We would not have allowed the product, in this case the Ethereum futures product, to be listed on a CFTC exchange unless we firmly believed it was a commodity.
“Because we have litigation risk, we have agency credibility risk if we do something like this without a serious legal defense or defense to support our argument that the asset is a commodity,” Behnam concluded.
Do you think Ethereum is classified as a security or a commodity in the US? Let us know in the comment section below.
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Source: Crypto News Deutsch
