Republican William Timmons Calls on SEC to Clarify Ethereum Legal Status
Date: 2025-06-11 Author: Oliver Abernathy Categories: CRYPTO PAYMENTS
Rep. Timmons is confident that the publication of relevant documents will allow the general public and Congress to understand the SEC's policy, which was led by Gary Gensler, regarding cryptocurrencies. Previously, under the previous leadership, the SEC did not provide clear explanations on the application of securities laws to digital assets. Timmons described the regulator's current course on the crypto market as "fluctuating and inconsistent."
In 2018, William Hinman, then the SEC's director of corporate finance, stated that neither bitcoin nor ether fall under the definition of securities. However, Gensler later expressed doubts about the legal status of ether, repeatedly avoiding a direct answer as to whether ether can be considered a security, Timmons noted. At the same time, the SEC approved the creation of spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) for Ether, which, according to the politician, is only possible if ETH is not classified as a security.
“Such abrupt changes in the regulator’s position cause confusion among millions of participants in the American crypto market and make it difficult to develop effective regulation,” Timmons added.
Last year, the crypto exchange Coinbase accused the SEC of violating the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). The case concerned the SEC’s investigation into the status of Ether, when the agency was required to disclose its position on this altcoin. However, the investigation was closed without the publication of any official documents. Later, the court ordered the SEC to provide some information, after which Coinbase published correspondence between the agency and the New York prosecutor’s office, which insisted that Ether should be considered a security.
In February of this year, the SEC clarified that memecoins do not fall under the category of securities, since their value is formed exclusively by market sentiment. The Commission emphasized that investing in such tokens involves high risks and is carried out at the buyer's own risk.
