Regulators have been confused about whether cryptocurrency is a security or a commodity, but clarity appears imminent
For years, US financial regulators couldn’t agree on what to do about cryptocurrency. They wanted to do something, but couldn’t agree on what crypto was – a security, like a stock or bond, or a commodity, like a raw material or agricultural product, or neither? – and which agency would have jurisdiction.
This week, Gary Gensler, a longtime critic of crypto and the chair of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), appears to have found the answer – by launching a crackdown on crypto exchanges, the platforms on which investors buy and sell digital currencies.
More Stories
Xi Jinping tells Alibaba’s Jack Ma and Chinese tech chiefs to ‘show their talent’
‘We’re clearly heading towards collapse’: why the Murdoch empire is about to go bang
Hackers steal $1.5bn from crypto exchange in ‘biggest digital heist ever’