Will Ether (ETH) Holders Finally Get Clarity From the SEC Under Trump?

Ether, the native token of the Ethereum blockchain, has yet to be specifically identified by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as a commodity

The status of Ether (CRYPTO: ETH) as a commodity is yet to be specifically identified by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, despite the regulator approving several Ethereum exchange-traded funds (ETFs) this year.

Now, with president-elect Donald Trump set to enter the White House early next year, will ETH holders finally get the clarity they have been asking for?

What Happened: Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse raised the matter in his congratulatory statement for Trump on Wednesday.

While the removal of SEC Chair Gary Gensler is at the top of Garlinghouse’s “fodder” list for Trump's first 100 days in office, he also highlighted the need for clarity on Ethereum.

"And last but not least, can we get some clarity ... similar to XRP and BTC (Bitcoin), that ETH is not a security, right?!" Garlinghouse wrote.

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ETH Price Action: At the time of writing, ETH price is up 5.5% over the past 24 hours and 20.2% over the past seven days. The apex crypto trades at $1,825.

Over the past 24 hours, ETH prices have been pulled up by Bitcoin’s rally to new all-time highs. Bitcoin price is up 3.5% over the past 24 hours and 13.5% over the past seven days.

The rally in both BTC and ETH prices comes amid a broader market rally in the U.S. with the Dow Jones Industrial Average rallying over 400 points on Tuesday.

The SEC Under Gensler: The SEC, under Gensler, has refused to provide clarity regarding Ether's status. Gensler repeatedly refused to directly answer lawmakers' questions on the crypto asset's status during Congress hearings.

Following a legal filing by Consensys to reveal that the SEC already recognized Ethereum as a security last year — before Gensler was first asked by Congress to clarify the matter — the SEC chair continued to dodge ETH-related questions.

In June, the Wall Street regulator dropped its investigation into the Ethereum blockchain but highlighted that the battle isn’t over.

The SEC said that its notice regarding the conclusion of its Ethereum probe "must in no way be construed as indicating that the party has been exonerated or that no action may ultimately result from the staff's investigation."

However, for some industry experts, the SEC already implicitly acknowledged that ETH is a commodity.

"If the SEC is now allowing ETH ETFs, and they have already deemed BTC and XRP as commodities, then it stands to reason that ETH is also a commodity," a crypto lawyer told Benzinga.

"The SEC is being very careful not to explicitly state this, but their actions speak louder than words."

The ETH community wants specific identification from the SEC, something Gensler refused to provide in a CNBC interview just a week before Ethereum ETFs were approved.

Trump On Crypto: Trump has only spoken about Bitcoin, and broadly, the crypto industry. He has signaled support for BTC mining, but has not yet mentioned other altcoins such as ETH or Solana (CRYPTO: SOL) and XRP.

On the other hand, many industry analysts and observers believe crypto will fare better under a Trump presidency, and while it is unclear whether he can legally "fire" Gensler, he may trigger some changes within the agency.

In turn, such reforms may lead to clarity for Ethereum's status once and for all.