The United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) chair, Rostin Behnam, restated at a congressional hearing on Tuesday that Ether was a commodity.
At the CFTC class action lawsuit against cryptocurrency giant Binance, the organisation designated major cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ether, Litecoin, and stablecoin Binance USD (BUSD) as commodities. The lawsuit accuses Binance of illegally trading cryptocurrency coins.
Behnam’s comments contradict previous statements from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
When asked by lawmakers at the House Appropriations Committee, Benham said: “I believe they are a commodity. And because they are listed on CFTC exchanges, we do have a regulatory relationship – obviously with the derivatives market and that product, but the underlying market as well.”
He added that his view pushed the case against Binance and financial institutions trading the top two cryptocurrencies—Bitcoin and Ether—with further trading platforms set to face crackdowns.
Conversely, SEC chair Gary Gensler has previously stated that proof-of-stake tokens were likely securities. Companies selling such digital assets would need to register for regulations.
The CFTC’s change in position comes amid a major crackdown on Binance, namely as Changpeng Zhao’s crypto empire faces US regulatory scrutiny for allegedly selling unregistered securities. The SEC also filed a lawsuit against Paxos and its role in minting BUSD tokens for the crypto firm.
News reports said that Binance had reached out to the SEC from 2018 to 2019, citing documents, statements, and former employees.
The alleged visit took place when Gensler served as the head of the CFTC and a Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) professor.
