- Ether joins Bitcoin as a commodity following the declaration by CFTC’s chair.
- Tarbert believes that similar assets should be given similar treatment unless they raise questions on how they were created.
The chairman of the Commodities Futures and Trading Commission Heath Tarbert says that Ether (ETH), the second-largest cryptocurrency in the world is a commodity. Tarbert spoke to Yahoo Finance during the Summit on Thursday where he admitted that Ethereum falls under the oversight of his organization.
“We’ve been very clear on bitcoin: bitcoin is a commodity. We haven’t said anything about ether””until now,” Tarbert said at Yahoo Finance’s All Markets Summit. “It is my view as chairman of the CFTC that ether is a commodity.”
Tarbert also took the time to urge the United States to take the leadership role when it comes to blockchain and digital assets.
“I want to stress the importance of blockchain and digital assets to the United States, and in particular, as CFTC Chairman, I want the U.S. to lead in this technology.”
The CFTC is clear on the matter that Bitcoin and Ether are not securities and has taken it upon itself to work hand in hand with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Tarbert agrees that there is “ambiguity in the market” regarding the status of numerous coins. However, urges that “similar digital assets should be treated similarly.”
The clarification of Ether as a commodity has opened the way for Ethereum derivatives in the United States. Cryptocurrency enthusiasts have a reason to smile as regulators appear to have an open mind likely to bring a paradigm shift across the industry.
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