Cryptocurrency regulations will become more variable

Subject

Cryptocurrency classification.

Significance

The classification of crypto assets under US securities law is less clear than in Japan, China and South Korea, but a working group comprising senior officials of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is discussing it. The unclear status of Ethereum’s ether and Ripple’s XRP, the second- and third-largest crypto assets by market capitalisation, is the centre of attention.

Impacts

• Mined crypto assets including bitcoin and litecoin are likely to remain classed as commodities.
• Ether and XRP are unlikely to be designated as commodities as they were initial coin offerings (ICOs) but also not as standard securities.
• As ICOs come under increasing regulatory scrutiny and control, more will fail, but a few may achieve notable success.