The SEC has recently announced that Ethereum, the second largest cryptocurrency in the world by market cap, will not be treated as a security by the SEC.
The news is an important one, especially for what it might mean for the development of ETH-related “offsprings”.
Bloomberg reported that the CBOE Global Markets President, Chris Concannon, had announced CBOE’s intention to launch ETH Futures. The idea, according to the press, had been around since 2017, and now that the SEC came with a statement that ETH is not to be treated as a security, the time for ETH Futures may just be right.
Mr. Concannon said:
“We are pleased with the SEC’s decision to provide clarity with respect to current Ether transactions. This announcement clears a key stumbling block for Ether futures, the case for which we’ve been considering since we launched the first Bitcoin futures in December 2017.”
The explanation as to why Ethereum is not considered a security is the fact that there is no specific group that is responsible for ETH. It is decentralized and open-ended. So, in a sense, there cannot be an investment contract in such case.
However, recent news show that the SEC is not to be so adamant in stating a cryptocurrency is or is not a security without first working with different legal counsels and ICO projects to determine the nature of the assets involved.