US CFTC commissioner says BTC and ETH are both commodities, not securities

According to Blockworks, Rostin Behnam, Chairman of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), appeared at a House Agriculture Committee hearing and stated that "BTC and ETH are commodities. Recently, digital asset platform Prometheum claimed otherwise by posting a disclaimer on its website stating that 'cryptocurrency securities traded on platforms not registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) are not covered by the U.S. Securities and Investor Protection Corporation (SPIC),' which I understand was the company's own action and not the SEC's intent," Behnam said. "How this plays out is very important. If the SEC essentially validates Promethium's position that ETH is a security, then any company or exchange listing these futures products would be in violation of SEC regulations, not CFTC regulations." Bennum's comments were made in response to Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn Thompson's question, "What are the implications for CFTC jurisdiction if Ethereum is deemed a security?"

He added, "It's wrong to say cryptocurrencies are going away. We need to take action. We need to work to fill the gaps in cryptocurrency regulation, particularly with respect to bitcoin, which is a commodity." He also referenced the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act (FIT Act), a proposed regulatory bill that would classify cryptocurrencies as commodities rather than securities, saying, "If Congress passes this bill, the CFTC will have regulatory guidance in 12 months. I'm confident." The bill was passed by the House Committee on Agriculture and Financial Services last year, but did not receive a floor vote.

Ethereum (ETH) has risen to 21st place in the global asset rankings by market capitalization following its recent surge. Gold is currently the No. 1 asset by market capitalization, followed by Microsoft at No. 2, Apple at No. 3, and Antidea at No. 4. Bitcoin is currently ranked ninth.