Is Ethereum a security or a commodity? Gary Gensler dodges questions about Ethereum
Is Ethereum (ETH) a security or a commodity?
Is Ethereum (ETH) a security or a commodity? This question keeps eluding SEC chief Gary Gensler.
Gary Gensler did not give a clear answer during a hearing to the committee members. In particular, the chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) dodged his take on the classification of Ethereum tokens (ETH).
When asked directly by Congressman Patrick McHenry whether Ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency, is a security, Gensler did not give a clear answer.
"Basically, all securities could be described as commodities under the Commodity Exchange Act," Gensler told McHenry. The SEC chief has repeatedly said that he views cryptocurrencies that use the proof-of-stake consensus mechanism as securities.
In an interview with New York Magazine on February 23, Gensler spoke plainly. In that interview, Gensler said:
“From everything but bitcoin, you can find a website, you can find a group of entrepreneurs, they can set up their legal entities in a foreign tax haven, they can have a foundation, they can hire a lawyer to try to engage in arbitration and make it legally difficult, etc. In other words, there are people behind these cryptocurrencies using all sorts of complex and legally opaque mechanisms, but at the most basic level they’re trying to promote their tokens and lure investors. (Bitcoin, due to its unique history and origin, is fundamentally different in this regard from other crypto projects).”
It seems that in Congress, Gensler is taking a different tone. Stay tuned.
