The Chair of the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) says that Ethereum (ETH) is not a security despite making the transition to a proof-of-stake consensus mechanism.
According to a new report by Fortune, CFTC Chair Rostin Behnam told an audience of attorneys and crypto figureheads at a conference in New York that the CFTC should have no issues working out regulatory jurisdiction with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
“It’s a pretty cynical view to suggest two agencies can’t figure it out and work together.”
However, the two regulatory bodies have recently disagreed about which crypto assets count as securities and which ones are to be considered commodities, according to the report. Securities are meant to be subject to SEC oversight while commodities fall under the jurisdiction of the CFTC.
Behnam highlights his difference of opinion with SEC Chairman Gary Gensler, who hinted that the leading smart contract platform turned into a security after it switched from a proof-of-work consensus mechanism to proof-of-stake last month.
Behnam also notes that he believes Bitcoin (BTC), the largest digital asset by market cap, counts as a commodity subject to CFTC regulations.
“I’ve suggested [Ether] is a commodity, and Chair Gensler thinks otherwise.”
The CFTC Chair goes on to say the Digital Commodities Consumer Protection Act, a crypto-focused bill introduced earlier this year, doesn’t give the CFTC enough authority over the categorization of digital assets.
He argues that instead, the CFTC and SEC should collaborate to find a solution, noting that the crypto industry would probably not like such an outcome.
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