CFTC Classifies Six Cryptocurrencies as Digital Commodities

The Chairman of the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), Mike Selig, has identified six major cryptocurrencies as digital commodities. The assets named were Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Solana (SOL), Stellar (XLM), Tezos (XTZ), and XRP. This classification comes as the CFTC prepares to establish its first formal regulations for the cryptocurrency market.

Selig made these remarks while discussing a crypto asset classification framework developed jointly by the CFTC and the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The goal is to create a more nuanced regulatory approach for the crypto market, distinguishing between different asset types and activities rather than applying a blanket classification.

The CFTC plans to develop specific rules for areas such as digital commodities, retail crypto transactions, and blockchain-based physical delivery. Selig emphasized that organizations offering custody services or trading platforms should be treated differently from software developers who do not hold assets directly.

This approach aims to categorize various activities within the crypto ecosystem based on their functions, ensuring that regulatory standards are tailored to specific roles rather than being universally applied.