- SEC Chairman Gary Gensler said he is willing to acknowledge Bitcoin as a commodity.
- People misinterpreted Gensler, claiming that he recognized Bitcoin as a commodity already.
- Should Bitcoin become the only commodity, then Ethereum may be considered a security.
The crypto space is paying close attention to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) again, as Chairman Gary Gensler made some bold statements regarding Bitcoin.
https://twitter.com/DocumentingBTC/status/1541437342401150982
As heard during the interview, Gensler is willing to acknowledge Bitcoin as the only cryptocurrency that may be considered a commodity. This effectively makes every altcoin a security in Gensler’s eyes.
However, many people in the crypto industry claimed that Gensler openly claimed Bitcoin is a commodity. This, unfortunately, is not entirely the case. Hailey Lennon, Partner at Anderson Kill, said the tweets of these people are “misrepresenting” Gensler’s statements.
Basically, Gensler’s statement is not tantamount to saying Bitcoin is a commodity — he is only hinting at the possibility of Bitcoin becoming one. Moreover, Gensler’s statement is not necessarily the official statement of the SEC.
Should Gensler’s words become the stance of the SEC, then it means Ethereum will then become considered a security. This may cause problems for some former SEC officials who are now working at companies that dabble with Ethereum.
For instance, ex-SEC Director William Hinman has financial ties to Simpson Thatcher & Bartlett, a law firm that is a member of the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance. Hinman is the one who famously said that Ethereum is not considered a security.
Meanwhile, then-Chairman Jay Clayton has joined Fireblocks, a crypto custodian.
