The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has once again confirmed that digital assets such as $BTC, $ETH, and $USDT are commodities as defined under Section 1a(9) of the Act, 7 U.S.C. This occurred yesterday during Sam Bankman-Fried’s court appearance in the Bahamas.
The CTFC appears to be at odds with itself regarding the status of ETH as a commodity. The majority seem to be okay with Bitcoin ($BTC) and Tether ($USDT) being classified as commodities but not Ethereum ($ETH).
At a crypto event at Princeton University, CFTC Chief Rostin Benham suggested that “Bitcoin is the only asset that should be viewed as a commodity.” Benham seems to be retracting his words, as he said in an interview with CNBC in May, that “Bitcoin and Ether fit the definition of a commodity.” But “plenty” of other tokens also fall within that category.”
Gary Gensler, the Chairman of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (S.E.C.), was in favour of classifying Ethereum as a commodity. He claimed that since the token transitioned into a Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus mechanism, staked ETH tokens may be considered securities under the Howey test.
Other countries’ views on what qualifies a digital asset as a security differ. According to a report drafted by Belgium’s Financial Service and Market Authority (FMSA), cryptocurrencies issued by computer code are not securities. The report further states that Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other decentralized coins are used as a medium of exchange, and the MiFID rules of conduct do not apply to them.
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