U.S. SEC Chairman: The SEC has never declared that Bitcoin and Ethereum are securities

PANews reported on January 15 that according to The Block, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Gary Gensler said in an interview with Yahoo Finance that the SEC has never stated that Bitcoin and Ethereum are securities. Gensler emphasized that neither the SEC nor its former chairman Jay Clayton has ever stated that Bitcoin is a security. He also added that the SEC did not clearly identify Ethereum’s security attributes, but said it could not directly confirm its non-securities nature due to reasons related to its job responsibilities.

The announcement comes as Gensler plans to leave office next week and as members of Congress have repeatedly called for clarity on its classification amid previous controversies and related lawsuits over whether Ethereum is a security. Gensler also noted that approximately 70%-80% of the crypto market is related to Bitcoin and Ethereum, while thousands of other tokens may be securities and subject to disclosure rules.