Former SEC chair Gensler calls Bitcoin the only crypto resembling a commodity

Former US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler stated in a Bloomberg TV interview that Bitcoin is the only cryptocurrency with a legitimate claim to lasting value, characterizing it as the sole digital asset that meaningfully resembles a commodity. Gensler pointed to Bitcoin's decentralized structure and widespread global recognition as the key factors distinguishing it from thousands of other digital tokens, which he labeled as purely speculative assets lacking underlying business fundamentals, cash flows, or dividends. While Gensler acknowledged dollar-backed stablecoins as a distinct separate category, he maintained a critical stance toward the broader altcoin ecosystem. His perspective remains consistent with his enforcement-heavy tenure at the SEC from 2021 to January 2025, during which Bitcoin was treated as an outlier exempt from unregistered securities enforcement actions and saw the approval of spot and futures ETFs. This commodity framing aligns with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission's (CFTC) classification of Bitcoin. The distinction reinforces Bitcoin's unique regulatory status among digital assets, potentially cementing its position as an institutional macro asset while keeping heightened regulatory scrutiny focused on altcoins.