Ethereum’s Upgrade Underscores SEC, CFTC Turf War: Crypto in DC

Ethereum’s April 12 upgrade will add to the ongoing turf war between the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission over cryprocurrencies.

The upgrade, dubbed “Shanghai,” will let users withdraw Ether they staked the world’s most-used blockchain plus any interest earned. SEC will likely view the payment of reward as yield and argue that Ether should be regulated as securities, while the CFTC insists that Ether is a commodity and under its jurisdiction.

The US Treasury Department issued a report highlighting the need for decentralized financial transactions’ compliance with anti-money laundering and sanctions laws, noting that ...