US Senators And SEC Agree To Call Bitcoin And Ethereum Commodities

Bitcoin and Ethereum are referred to as securities. (Unsplash)

JAKARTA – One of the drafters of the crypto bill in the United States, senator Kirsten Gillibrand revealed that the chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the US Commodity Futures Trading and Contracts Commission (CFTC) approved the status of two cryptocurrencies, the largest namely Bitcoin and Ethereum, as commodities.

On the other hand, senator Cynthia Lummis believes that most other crypto assets are securities. The two senators discussed the crypto bill with Washington Post Live on Thursday June 9, 2022.

The two further discussed the criteria for whether a digital asset is referred to as a commodity, a security, or simply a newly introduced “additional asset”. Furthermore, Lummis stated that the additional assets include NFT digital art, digital assets that are neither a store of value nor a medium of exchange.

While securities are defined using criteria according to the provisions of the Howey Test in the 1930s. Tokens that are included in the securities category include, among others, those that provide voting rights, dividend payments, and profit/profit sharing to users.

Then senator Gillibrand added that the bill would empower the SEC and CFTC to regulate the crypto market. The SEC itself will closely monitor the crypto market. The largest number of crypto assets will be under the auspices of the CFTC, in this case including BTC and ETH.

“If you like Bitcoin, and create a Proof-of-Work or Proof-of-Stake token, your token is likely to be a commodity,” said Gillibrand. He further stated that SEC chairman Gery Gensler and CFTC chairman agreed to classify Bitcoin and Ethereum into commodity categories.

“Bitcoin and Ether will definitely become commodities – and that was agreed by Chairman Gensler, as well as the chairman of the CFTC,” he added.