U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Gary Gensler declined to say whether the regulator was considering Ethereum be a security, although the SEC is considering several applications for spot Ethereum ETFs.
Speaking on Bloomberg TelevisionGensler said he would “defer to that question,” when asked if the regulator considers Ethereum a security.
“For each of these crypto tokens, these are facts and circumstances to determine whether the investing public expects a profit based on the efforts of others,” he said. “We have files in front of us. I'm not going to comment.”
The SEC's position on Ethereum has become pressing as it deals with multiple applications for an Ethereum spot ETF in the United States. This week again, the regulator delayed his decision on whether to approve investment giant BlackRock's iShares Ethereum Trust, after delaying Ethereum ETF spot applications from Fidelity, Invesco and Galaxy Digital.
James Seyffart, analyst at Bloomberg ETF predicted that the SEC would continue to delay its decision on Ethereum ETF applications until May 23, the final deadline for applications from VanEck and Cathie Wood's investment company, Ark Invest.
If so, this follows the regulator's pattern of slowly approving spot Bitcoin ETFs.
In January, the regulator approved several spot Bitcoin ETFs, but it did so only reluctantly, with Gensler indicating that “Circumstances have changed, however,” after a court ordered the SEC to review Grayscale’s application to convert its GBTC product into an ETF.
At the time, Gensler emphasized that the approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs “should in no way signal the Commission's willingness to approve listing standards for crypto asset securities.” He also added that “investors should remain cautious of the myriad risks associated with Bitcoin and products whose value is tied to crypto.”
He reiterated this view in Wednesday's interview, calling crypto a “highly speculative asset class.”
“Is there any cash flow, or what is the use case for thousands of these tokens? » asked Gensler. He added: “It can also be securities, because the investing public relies on the efforts of a group of entrepreneurs in the middle of these products.”
Gensler, the SEC and Ethereum
Under Gensler, the SEC has long had the point of view that Bitcoin is a commodity rather than a security, while refusing to comment on the status of Ethereum.
Gensler's refusal to commit to the SEC's position on Ethereum's status as a security or commodity stands in stark contrast to his statements before joining the regulator.
In 2018, while still a lecturer at MIT, Gensler said that Ethereum is “not a security” in the eyes of the SEC. He added that “in 2018, the Securities and Exchange Commission said, whatever it might have been” during its 2014 ICO, “it's now decentralized enough that we wouldn't consider it a valuable asset.” furniture”.
At the time, Gensler appeared to be referring to an opinion expressed by the SEC's former director of corporate finance, William Hinmanin his very quoted “sufficiently decentralized” speech in June of the same year.
Edited by Stacy Elliott.