While at a cryptocurrency event at Princeton University, CFTC Chairman Rostin Behnam recently said that only Bitcoin, not ether, is a commodity.
Regarding FTX's failure, there have been growing concerns that American government may adopt a harsher stance against cryptocurrencies.
Since quite some time, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has openly argued that Ethereum (ETH) and Bitcoin (BTC) are both commodities. That regulatory evaluation, however, seems to have undergone a significant alteration yesterday.
According to CFTC Chairman Rostin Behnam, the only cryptocurrency that should be regarded as a commodity is Bitcoin. He made this claim while speaking at a crypto event at Princeton University. In doing so, he completely retracts his earlier remarks, in which he claimed that ether is likewise a commodity.
According to Fortune, Behnam lauded the cooperation between U.S. regulatory agencies while referring to the regulatory grid as an "imperfect system"—possibly to support his revised evaluation.
Read: Head of BlackRock: FTX Token was a disaster, but technology is still groundbreaking
Interestingly, Behnam recently stated the opposite during a speech for the Rutgers Center for Corporate Law and Governance on October 24, according to Bitcoinist. He spoke on the alleged conflict of jurisdiction over cryptocurrency regulation between his organization and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) throughout the address. Behnam aimed to minimize the differences of opinion on a number of topics.
He also pointed out that the CFTC continues to view Ethereum (ETH) as a commodity rather than a security. "Chairman [Gary] Gensler] believes otherwise, or hasn't stated one way or the other," he continued.
As late as early October, several CFTC representatives, including commissioner Christy Romero, had the same viewpoint. The sudden change of heart from yesterday might be a sign that Gary Gensler, the head of the SEC, is now in the driving seat.
In recent months, Gensler, the SEC head since April 2021, has passionately argued that Ethereum's switch to proof of stake and its fixed-income returns may justify a classification as a security and asked for stricter enforcement actions.
This might be a very bad sign for the entire crypto business, according to some. Fears that American officials may come down more harshly on cryptocurrency have been mounting in recent days following the collapse of FTX. Let us know what you think about this in the comment section below.
