The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) representatives’ testimonies revealed a number of signs about how cryptocurrencies will be regulated in the future, according to Quartz.
Currently, Bitcoin is seen as a commodity, a security, or a hybrid. The CFTC chairman said it displayed features of multiple asset classes. But when viewed as a store of value like gold, Bitcoin behaves “very much like a commodity,” he added.
Referring to the increased number of ICOs, the head of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), thinks every ICO he has seen has been a securities offering. However, none of them has registered as offerings with the SEC. As a result the SEC is going after ICOs and lawyers or accountants who enable illegal ICOs.
Moreover, the commission draws a distinction between “pure cryptocurrencies” and ICOs, and even if it’s not entirely clear what that distinction might be, ICOs should be regulated like securities offerings, without mentioning the regulatory status of “pure cryptocurrencies.
As a consequence, crypto is turning out to be the rare industry where regulation is welcomed rather than opposed, the online publication added. US Congress could give the SEC or CFTC more powers to oversee cryptocurrency exchanges. Also, the FBI has recently seconded agents to the CFTC to analyse transactions in the Bitcoin futures and spot markets to detect signs of terrorist financing and evasion of sanctions by countries like North Korea.
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