- Ethereum has faced a strong drop since the August highs of $490.
- The coin currently trades for $375, far below the aforementioned highs.
- The cryptocurrency remains in a fundamentally strong position, though, analysts say.
- So much so that the chairman of the U.S. Commodities and Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) threw his weight behind Ethereum.
- In a talk, he said that he has genuinely been impressed by the protocol.
- He added that if Bitcoin is email, Ethereum is the Internet.
- His comment created some controversy online as some Bitcoin maximalists thought it was foolish of him to take that position.
CFTC Chairman Announces Support for Ethereum
Ethereum has faced much criticism over recent months as the network has faced severe congestion issues. The cynics say that the network will never succeed due to delays in the launches of Ethereum scaling technologies.
But the proponents of the protocol are not fazed. Heath Tarbert, the chairman of the U.S. Commodities and Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), recently doubled down on his support for Ethereum.
Speaking at a CoinDesk event, he said that he has been impressed with Ethereum, “period.”
He elaborated that in his role as a regulator of commodities and derivatives, he sees Bitcoin as email while Ethereum is “more like the Internet.” He did admit, though, that Bitcoin remains a revolutionary technology.
The chairman of the CFTC literally just said this pic.twitter.com/CRVwA4SwNT
— Spencer Noon 🕛 (@spencernoon) October 14, 2020
It’s worth noting that this isn’t the first time Tarbert has mentioned Ethereum in a positive light.
In an interview with Bloomberg at the start of 2020, the regulator stated that he thinks that Ethereum is worthy of having its own U.S.-regulated futures. He said in October 2019 that he “absolutely” believed there would be futures for the coin within six to 12 months of those comments. Tarbert’s assertion suggests that the CFTC sees Ethereum as a commodity, not a security as some critics have suggested.
An Active Regulator
While the CFTC does see value in cryptocurrencies, it is actively regulating the space.
The CFTC made headlines just a week ago when it was revealed that it was charging BitMEX, a crypto derivatives provider that has futures for Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other digital assets. BitMEX is by far one of the most influential companies in the crypto space, facilitating much BTC and ETH derivatives volume.
Investors are somewhat unfazed by the news about BitMEX, though. Mike Novogratz, CEO of crypto investment bank Galaxy Digital, said after the news on the prospects of crypto:
“Crypto friends, Let’s remember that you are innocent to proven guilty. It’s a cornerstone of American justice. I have no insight into the case but I wish @CryptoHayes well. I do think that $btc and crytpo is far bigger than any one exchange or person. So buy dips.”
The CFTC may face a problem in Ethereum, though, as decentralized derivatives platform gather steam.
Photo by Matthew Waring on Unsplash Price tags: ethusd, ethbtc Charts from TradingView.com CFTC Chairman Tarbert is Impressed by Ethereum, "Period"
