CFTC chief declares Ethereum (ETH) a commodity, regardless of Gary Gensler’s pro-Bitcoin stance
The chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CTFC) believes Ethereum (ETH) is a commodity, despite opinions to the contrary from SEC Chairman Gary Gensler.
Speaking at the Senate Agriculture Hearing, CTFC Chair Rostin Behnam says that the second largest crypto-asset by market capitalization counts as a commodity, making it fall under the CTFC’s jurisdiction.
When asked about US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Gary Gensler’s recent comments that all crypto assets except Bitcoin (BTC) count as securities, Behnam says he believes ETH is categorically a commodity.
“I’ve argued that Ether is a commodity, it’s been listed on exchanges for quite some time, and for that reason it creates a very direct jurisdictional hook for us to control the derivatives market, but also the underlying market.”
According to Behnam, there is no doubt in his mind that Ethereum products are considered goods as offering them as such without actually being so would have legal ramifications.
“There is no doubt in my mind, and after knowing this and [having] been in the commission when Ether futures were listed, that both the exchange and the commission thought very deeply and thoughtfully about what the product [is] and does it fall within the goods regime or the security regime?
We would not have allowed the product, in this case the Ether futures product, to be listed on an exchange if we did not feel strongly that it was a commodity, because we have litigation risk and agency credibility risk.”
Behnam goes on to mention other digital assets that he believes count as commodities, such as stablecoins.
“Stablecoins are and should be properly regulated financial instruments, despite a regulatory framework around stablecoins, they are going to be commodities in my view.”
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Featured image: Shutterstock/Ian Good
