Bitcoin, Ethereum are digital commodities, says CFTC Chair

• 
  CFTC
  Chair
  Rostin
  Behnam
  says
  that
  an
  Illinois
  court
  confirmed
  that
  Bitcoin
  and
  Ethereum
  are
  digital
  commodities.
• 
  Behnam
  said
  that
  the
  cryptocurrencies
  are
  commodities
  under
  the
  Commodity
  Exchange
  Act.
• 
  Bitcoin,
  Ethereum
  have
  sustained
  above
  key
  support
  levels,
  BTC
  trades
  above
  $57,000
  and
  Ether
  above
  $3,000
  on
  Wednesday.

Commodity
Futures
Trading
Commission
(CFTC)
Chair
Rostin
Behnam
spoke
at
the
Senate
Committee
hearing,
stating
that
70
to
80%
of
cryptocurrencies
are
not
securities. 

Behnam
spoke
about
the
crypto
asset
class
amidst
the
ongoing
debate
in
the
crypto
community
and
the
lawsuits
brought
by
the
Securities
&
Exchange
Commission
(SEC)
and
faced
by
crypto
firms
and
exchange
platforms.

Bitcoin
and
Ethereum
are
not
securities 

Whether
cryptocurrencies
like

Bitcoin,
Ethereum
and
several
other
altcoins
are
securities
has
been
debatable
for
several
years.
The
SEC
lawsuits
against
exchange
platforms
like
Coinbase
for
unregistered
securities
sales
and
against

Ripple
for
the
sale
of
unregistered
securities
(XRP
token)
have
intensified
the
debate
among
market
participants. 

The
CFTC
Chair
put
the
debate
to
rest
with
his
statements
at
a
Senate
Committee
hearing,
early
on
Wednesday.
Behnam
said
that
70%
to
80%
of
cryptocurrencies
are
non-securities.
Behnam
addressed
the
asset
class
and
his
statements
brought
clarity
to
the
issue. 

During
the
hearing,
Behnam
said
that
both
Bitcoin
and
Ethereum
are
commodities,
and
referenced
a
summary
judgment
from
a
District
Court
Ruling
in
Illinois.
The
CFTC
Chair
said
that
the
judgment

“reaffirmed
that
both
Bitcoin
and
Ether
are
commodities
under
the
Commodities
Exchange
Act.”

Behnam
addressed
the
concern
over
whether
the
SEC
or
CFTC
should
regulate
crypto.
When
Senator
Roger
Marshall
talked
about
the
turf
war
between
the
SEC
and
the
CFTC
over
figuring
out
which
digital
assets
are
securities
and
which
are
commodities,
he
asked,
“Wouldn’t
it
be
simpler
if
we
put
this
whole
thing
under
the
CFTC’s
jurisdiction?” 

To
which
the
CFTC
Chair
responded,
“I
speak
for
myself,
but
I’d
be
happy
to
do
that.
I
think
we
have
the
expertise
and
the
capacity.”

Bitcoin
and
Ethereum
have
sustained
above
key
support
levels
on
Wednesday.
BTC
trades
at
$57,560
and
Ether
above
$3,000
at
the
time
of
writing.