CFTC Requests Public Comment on Ethereum, Unnamed Source Suggests Decision Already Made?

The latest on US Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (CFTC) activities has been revealed by the Abacus Journal and it is supposedly regarding Ethereum. In particular, the news outlet posted that the CFTC is currently seeking public comments on whether Ethereum should be considered a commodity or a security (https://abacusjournal.com/insider-cftc-and-ethereum-as-the-cftc-requests-ethereum-comments-insider-considers-commodity-designation-a-done-deal/).

As per the official announcement, it seems like the CFTC is seeking said requests to better educate themselves on the technology being used, which in turn will help them decide on the specs of the crypto market. The need to ensure that Ethereum abides by existing regulation was also addressed in the released statement. Here’s an extract explaining the role public input will have on their end result:

“The input from this request will advance the CFTC’s mission of ensuring the integrity of the derivatives markets as well as monitoring and reducing systematic risk by virtual currencies, including here Ether and Bitcoin, as well as Ether-specific opportunities, challenges and risks.”

Interestingly, an unnamed source claims that the decision has already been more or less finalized and Ethereum appears to be in support of a commodity. The request for the publics’ input is supposedly done to validate the decision. As per Abacus Journal,

“Chris [Chairman of CFTC] understands the digital assets landscape really, really well […] This step [public comments] will give some background to the decision and he expects the comments to be largely in favor of a commodity designation.”

For those interested in sharing their voice on this matter, the CFTC has indicated that said comments should be received, “within 60 days of publication in the Federal Register.”