U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler did not clarify whether his agency considers Ether a security as the SEC reviews multiple applications for Ethereum spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
Gensler emphasized the speculative nature of cryptocurrencies and advised investors to exercise caution given the market’s volatility, in a recent interview with Bloomberg.
The SEC’s stance on Ethereum is under scrutiny as it processes applications for U.S. spot Ethereum ETFs. The SEC’s decisions for VanEck and Ark Invest’s applications are set for May 23.
The regulator’s pattern of delaying decisions on cryptocurrency ETFs continues, following the reluctant approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs in January.
Gensler has maintained that most tokens could be considered securities, with Bitcoin being the only asset that can be considered a commodity.
The SEC’s review of Ethereum ETFs is ongoing, with the investing public and industry experts closely watching for any signals of the regulator’s stance on Ethereum’s status.
Ether rose 0.2% over the past 24 hours to trade at US$3,827 at noon ET, according to CoinGecko data.
The native cryptocurrency of the Ethereum network is up 10.4% for the week.