{"id":13029,"date":"2022-06-29T09:55:46","date_gmt":"2022-06-29T09:55:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/gary-gensler-did-not-say-bitcoin-is-the-only-commodity\/"},"modified":"2022-06-29T09:55:46","modified_gmt":"2022-06-29T09:55:46","slug":"gary-gensler-did-not-say-bitcoin-is-the-only-commodity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/gary-gensler-did-not-say-bitcoin-is-the-only-commodity\/","title":{"rendered":"Gary Gensler did not say Bitcoin is the ‘only commodity’"},"content":{"rendered":"

(Originally posted on : CoinJournal: Latest Bitcoin, Ethereum & Crypto News )<\/b>
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Gary Gensler, the Chair of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said in a CNBC interview<\/u><\/a> on Monday that Bitcoin (BTC) was a commodity.<\/p>\n

Clearly, Gensler did not mention Ethereum (ETH), the second largest cryptocurrency by market cap. But did he say that Bitcoin was the \u201conly commodity\u201d in crypto?<\/p>\n

Scott Melker aka \u2018The Wolf of All Streets\u2019<\/em> says the SEC chief did not make such a specification and that he was \u201cvery careful with his words.\u201d<\/p>\n

Recap of Gary Gensler\u2019s remarks<\/h2>\n

One of the headlines had suggested<\/a> that Gensler said Bitcoin was the only cryptocurrency that\u2019s a commodity. Here\u2019s what the SEC chair said:<\/p>\n

\u201cMany of these crypto-financial assets have the key attributes of a security. So some of them are under the SEC. Some, like Bitcoin, and that\u2019s the only one I am going to say because I am not going to talk about any one of these tokens, my predecessors and others have said they\u2019re a commodity<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Melker, it is clear that Gensler is \u201cnon-committal as to his own thoughts\u201d as he mentions predecessors and others.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He also appears to be stating that there are two groups of cryptocurrencies \u2013 securities and commodities. But what he only wanted to talk about was Bitcoin, which again, has been categorized as a commodity by \u201cothers and predecessors.\u201d<\/p>\n

FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried also states Gensler did not specify that BTC was the only commodity in the crypto sphere.<\/p>\n

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to be clear he said BTC was the only cryptocurrency he was comfortable saying was a commodity, while many were securities<\/p>\n

it didn’t address explicitly what all others were<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s the only one I\u2019m going to say because I\u2019m not going to talk about any one of these tokens\u201d https:\/\/t.co\/P1krUEYdtk<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 SBF (@SBF_FTX) June 27, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Ethereum not mentioned<\/h2>\n

On why he doesn\u2019t mention other coins or name securities, Melker noted in his latest edition of \u2018The Wolf Den<\/em>\u2019 newsletter:<\/p>\n

\u201cHe likely wants to avoid putting a spotlight on other coins, especially while legislators are forming policy, regulators are waiting for a mandate.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a bill before the US Congress that seeks to have a clear demarcation of what falls under the purview of the SEC and the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).<\/p>\n

In 2018, former SEC official William Hinman gave a speech in which he suggested both Bitcoin and Ethereum were not securities. In December 2020, the SEC sued Ripple over claims it had sold unregistered securities.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n