The US SEC has once again clarified its position on Ethereum and Bitcoin, stating that both cryptocurrencies are not securities. Announcement by SEC Corporate Finance Division Chief William Hinman has picked up on one of the most pressing issues in the crypto market and has returned to positive market activity.

Hinman’s official statement made at the Yahoo Finance All Market Summit expressly exempts Bitcoin and Ethereum from a definition as a security:

“Based on my understanding of the present state of ether, the Ethereum network and its decentralized structure, current offers and sales of ether are not securities transactions.”

US regulator reveals SEC position on cryptocurrencies

Some cryptocurrencies are not securities, according to Hinman. In his statement at the summit, Hinman stated that the SEC has no plans to change the definition of the securities. There will therefore be no change in the law with which the new asset class can be defined. The name of a token is not important, but the way it is sold, what it promises, and how it behaves, Hinman said.

According to the SEC official, the economic reality of each token is more important than its labeling. During the extensive session on cryptocurrencies, Hinman went into the SEC’s position on Bitcoin — which, like Ethereum, is not considered a security by the SEC because of its decentralized nature.

Bitcoin and Ethereum are not securities

Sadly, the SEC official did not go into detail about the different Altcoins, but stated that more coins would be exempted from classification and regulation as security. Hinman hinted that some digital assets could potentially be structured as consumer goods rather than securities, especially if the support is specifically for personal use rather than investment. Above all, this provides certainty for many developers who focus on projects that create a blockchain platform with real use cases, that the respective tokens are not classified as a flat rate as a security. Nevertheless, the topic of fraud in the ICO ecosystem is one of the SEC’s top concerns.