Bitcoin is Digital Property, Ethereum is Digital Security - Argues Michael Saylor
US-based software developer MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor has once again questioned the regulatory status of ethereum (ETH), arguing that it can be best classified as digital security. On the other hand, he insisted that there is no doubt that bitcoin (BTC) is a digital property, and thus not subject to regulatory headaches.
Saylor, who has appeared on a recent episode of the UpOnly podcast, said that the most important thing for a long-term crypto investor to understand is the political status of a cryptoasset -- i.e., is it a cryptocurrency, a crypto property, or crypto security.
"As far as I can see, Bitcoin is a crypto property and by property, it means it's viewed as a fair, common piece of property beyond the control of a company or a group of individuals," Saylor said, adding that it is pretty challenging to create a property.
Bitcoin was created by the pseudonymous Satoshi Nakamoto, who released the original Bitcoin white paper in 2008. The coins are created through mining, which means there never was a pre-mine or an initial coin offering (ICO). Bitcoin uses the proof-of-work (PoW) mechanism, which is according to Saylor a "fair distribution."
Pointing these out, Saylor claimed that bitcoin can be easily classified as digital property, saying:
"It is pretty clear that of everything in the crypto universe the thing that is most likely to be deemed property in any given nation-state is Bitcoin."
However, he classified every coin that enables staking or uses the proof-of-stake (PoS) mechanism as digital security.
"It has been explicitly stated by the regulators if there is a stake and it generates yield it's an investment contract and an investment contract is a security," Saylor added.
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