Ethereum is a commodity, says co-founder Joseph Lubin

Regulating cryptocurrencies is challenging due to the difficulty of categorizing them as commodities or securities. Their decentralized nature and unique requirements make placing them in a single category hard. As digital currencies are intended to operate independently of government control, the debate on their classification continues to spark controversy.

This is what happens to Ethereum, too, as the asset wasn’t created to be only a commodity like Bitcoin is. Although ether can be used for transactions, the blockchain is much more than a simple network for digital exchanges. It includes learning and creating opportunities for developers who want to deploy dapps, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and more.

A recent debate about what Ethereum exactly is arose recently, and the co-founder of Ethereum spoke up about it.

Ethereum is a commodity, not a security

In a recent interview with CNBC, Joseph Lubin, the co-founder of Ethereum and CEO of ConsenSys discussed how cryptocurrency is a commodity. This aspect was already stated by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).

Lubin’s response came into context after the former SEC director said about Ethereum that he didn’t consider it security then.

Other similar figures had controversial opinions about Ethereum, which is why the regulation by enforcement appeared in the US regarding the crypto industry.

However, all cryptocurrencies are considered securities

A regular security asset can be defined as regulated and must be disclosed regarding investing risk.

Although it’s more challenging to standardize all digital assets this way, the SEC decided that Bitcoin can be a security, despite its lack of a central entity.

Still, the CFTC chairman stated that while most cryptocurrencies are securities, Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and USDT should be regulated as commodities.

Other similar figures recognized only Bitcoin as a commodity. All these opinions don’t provide a certain take on Ethereum, so governments are not that sure about its adoption.

In comparison, Bitcoin is easier to classify.