Former SEC chair Gary Gensler stated in a December 2025 Bloomberg TV interview that Bitcoin is the only cryptocurrency with characteristics of a commodity. He cited its decentralized structure and global recognition as the primary factors distinguishing it from thousands of other digital tokens.
Gensler argued that most altcoins lack underlying fundamentals, such as dividends or cash flows, and function primarily as speculative bets on price movements. He noted that these assets rely on the expectation of future price appreciation rather than economic substance.
While maintaining a critical stance on the broader crypto market, Gensler identified dollar-backed stablecoins as a separate category. He also confirmed that he does not personally own Bitcoin or any other digital assets.
During his tenure as SEC chair from 2021 through January 2025, Gensler consistently treated Bitcoin differently from other crypto assets. His agency frequently classified various tokens as unregistered securities, while Bitcoin remained an outlier due to its lack of a central issuer.
The approval of Bitcoin futures ETFs during his leadership reflected this regulatory distinction. This classification aligns with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s view, which subjects commodities to different disclosure and investor protection frameworks compared to securities.
