Not every asset is a security. Former Chairman Clayton and I have both said that bitcoin is not a security, and the Commission has never treated bitcoin as a security.
Our focus, rather, has been on some of the 10,000 or so other digital assets, many of which courts have ruled were offered or sold as securities. Putting this in context, aside from bitcoin, ether, and stablecoins, the rest of this market approximates $600 billion. That’s less than 20 percent of the whole crypto market and less than one quarter of one percent of the worldwide capital markets.
Let me make two points.
First, those parties offering or selling securities to the public need to register and give proper disclosure to the public. Second, the intermediaries—broker-dealers, exchanges, clearinghouses—need to be registered and properly regulated as to conflicts, disclosures, and business conduct.
Prior to my arrival at the Commission, numerous filings for exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and products (ETPs) for bitcoin had been disapproved or withdrawn at the SEC staff’s request. Shortly after I arrived in 2021, the first bitcoin futures ETF went effective after consultation with SEC staff. Though we initially followed in our predecessor’s footsteps with regard to ETPs that hold physical bitcoin, the Commission approved ETPs for physical bitcoin and ether earlier this year. Subsequently, in contrast with non-compliant crypto asset markets, investors in these products have gotten the benefits of disclosure, oversight, lower fees, and greater competition.
Source: SEC.gov | Car Keys, Football, and Effective Administration