SEC Corporation Finance Director: We aren’t classifying bitcoin, ether as securities

SEC Corporation Finance Division Director William Hinman

William Hinman, the director of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)Division of Corporation Finance, announced at Yahoo Finance’s All Market Summit: Crypto in San Francisco that the SEC would not be classifying bitcoin or ether as securities.

It should be noted that SEC Chair Jay Clayton had already said that digital currencies are not securities and the definition of “security” would not change to include bitcoin.

The announcement by Hinman marks the SEC’s official position – the name is not significant, but how it is sold, promised and behaves is the main deciding factor.

Video of Hinman making the announcement at the Yahoo Finance event:

Hinman’s photo via his bio on SEC’s website.