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Hong Kong throws open the doors to cryptocurrency even as debate rages on whether it’s a security or commodity
- The chairman of the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Rostin Behnam called the ether token a commodity during a congressional hearing
- The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Gary Gensler argued that every cryptocurrency other than bitcoin falls under securities laws
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This is Part 2 of a special two-part series on cryptocurrency developments in Hong Kong and elsewhere in Asia. Part 1 is here.
The debate over whether cryptocurrencies are securities or commodities has continued among regulators in the US as it would determine which agency assumes primary oversight of digital assets.
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And the confusion persists, with chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Rostin Behnam in March calling the ether token a commodity during a congressional hearing, while the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Gary Gensler argued that every cryptocurrency other than bitcoin falls under securities laws.
“The [Biden] administration, like many administrations, has a lot of priorities. And it appears that providing a constructive atmosphere in the United States for cryptocurrency is not among those priorities any more,” Bill Hughes, Senior Counsel and Director of Global Regulatory Matters at New York-based blockchain software company ConsenSys, told Forkast in an interview.
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China banned cryptocurrency trading in 2021 and Hong Kong turned frosty on the industry as a result, even though it was home to several early cryptocurrency businesses, including the now-bankrupt FTX that left for the Bahamas where it eventually collapsed.
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