Ethereum. Is It a Commodity, or a Security

Hello everyone, this is BitDegree Insider, and this is your daily dose of web3. But before we jump into it, please, spare a minute, and answer this short question:

Today's topics:

• Is ETH A Commodity or A Security? Not Clear.
• UK Just Voted To Recognise Crypto
• Reddit NFTs Are a Hit.
• Selected Meme of The Day
• Bite-Sized News

ETH Regulation Problems

There's a disagreement currently taking place. The opposing sides are CFTC (Commodity Futures Trading Commission) and SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission).

The object of discussion is… the classification of Ethereum in the US.

Rostin Behnam, The Chairman of the CFTC , has expressed that in CFTC's eyes, Ethereum is a commodity, and not a security. 

Now Gary Gensler, The Chairman of the SEC, views post-Merge Ethereum as a security. Do you see what's happening here?

The classification of Ethereum (or of altcoins, in general) is a pressing issue. It has been so since 2018, when William Hinman, the SEC's director of corporate finance at that time, referred to both BTC and ETH as non-securities.

If it's decided that cryptocurrencies are commodities, they automatically become subject to CFTC oversight. If they're destined to be regarded as securities, it's the SEC that's gonna oversee them.

What's the difference?

The general understanding is this: commodities are more lightly regulated than securities. Securities entail the responsibility for increased reporting by the issuers, traders and companies involved.

Therefore most people would agree: it's CFTC that they side with. But still, it's a zero-sum game. No matter which side wins, crypto will lose its decentralisation.

TL;DR: CFTC (Commodity Futures Trading Commission) and SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) can't find an agreement about whether Ethereum is a security or a commodity.

The UK To Recognise Crypto

The UK has a new PM. His name is Rishi Sunak. It's been one day since he was appointed to this position.

And the Bitcoin price has already shown signs of vitality by increasing over 6% during the last 24 hours.

And the overall cryptocurrency market cap rose above the $1 trillion mark. Of course, it's not because Rishi Sunak became the PM. There are always multiple explanations.

So what's up?

Yesterday the UK parliament voted in favour of recognising crypto as a regulated financial instrument.

It translates to ensuring that crypto assets could be regarded as something existing within provisions of the Financial Services Markets Act 2000.

Nevertheless, this is not the end. There are two more stages left for the bill to pass at the House of Commons. Then the time will come for the House of Lords to take action.

So it's still in process.

TL;DR: UK Parliament voted in favour of recognising crypto as a regulated financial instrument. There are few more stages left until the bill gets passed.

Reddit NFTs

Okay, the kingdom of Internet Karma, Reddit, has just accelerated this thing that others refer to as 'global adoption'.

So Reddit launched their own NFTs. But, here's the catch. They don't refer to them as NFTs. They call them 'digital collectible avatars'.

That's quite smart. By calling 'movies' 'films', you instantly exude pretentious aura. By calling 'NFTs' 'digital collectible avatars', you avoid repulsing those who fear the word.

These collectible avatars are called CryptoSnoos. They can be obtained, sold, and traded just like NFTs. Because they're polygon based. Blockchain.exe intensifies.

The CryptoSnoos were created by various creators. Thousands of unique pieces were made. But right now… Every CryptoSnoos collection has two words written on it: "SOLD OUT".

Some of them were available for $49.00. While others were sold for… 175 ETH (over $266k).

So here you go. You've heard of Bored Apes or CryptoPunks… Get familiar with CryptoSnoos. It looks like they're here to stay.

TL;DR: Reddit created their own NFTs. They're called CryptoSnoos.

Selected Meme of The Day

Bite-Sized News

• Cash App Enables Bitcoin Transactions via Lighting Network
• Compound Pauses Supply of 4 Tokens to Avoid Price Manipulation
• Freeway Provides More Information About the Decision to Halt Withdrawals
• Crypto.com and Gate.io to Help the City of Busan to Launch Crypto Exchange
• Payment Service BitPay Introduces Support for Polygon's MATIC