Bitcoin price was supposed to climb higher today on the back of goods news about Bitcoin ETF filings and an options expiry. But it fell by more than $1,000 this morning to $29,770 this morning after the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) deemed the recent bitcoin ETF filings, which were supposed to have pumped the cryptocurrency’s price, inadequate.

As of this writing, bitcoin price is changing hands at $30,374.53, relatively unchanged from a day earlier and down by 3% last week.

An Unclear ETF Application

Bitcoin price rallied last week after investment giant BlackRock filed for a Bitcoin ETF last week. Crypto enthusiasts said it had high chances of approval because the filing mentioned a “surveillance-sharing” agreement with a regulated spot market.

But there are no regulated spot markets in cryptocurrency right now. Publicly-listed Coinbase has a long shot at claiming that title but it is locked in a legal battle with the SEC for regulatory clarity about cryptocurrencies listed on its exchange. Therefore, it isn’t surprising that the SEC said the application was not “clear and comprehensive” because it did not have the name of the exchange for spot-sharing surveillance.

Still, there was some profit-taking last night. Bitcoin price crept past the $31,000 mark yesterday night and this morning. That move must have allowed, at least, some investors to book marginal profits.

Binance.US Moving Sale Still On

It’s a miracle.

TrueUSD (TUSD) has regained its peg at Binance.US. The fifth-largest stablecoin by market capitalization had lost its peg yesterday amid news that it had exposure to failed custodian Prime Trust. It is still a mystery how it managed to correct the imbalance.

Its biggest trading partner at the exchange is controversial stablecoin Tether whose peg is still wobbling at $0.95. [Stablecoins are supposed to maintain parity with the US dollar]. Last night a big tranche of TUSDs was shifted to hot wallets at Binance. Other coins, including bitcoin, are still going for a discount.

Ethereum As A Commodity

Beyond press releases replete with incomprehensible buzzwords, there are very few stories in crypto. Many are recycled time and again. One of them relates to the regulatory status of ether – Ethereum’s native token. Ether’s status has been an open question since it was launched in 2015. And it remains undecided till date. This is the case even after multiple videos have surfaced that show Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin touting its value to investors during ether’s initial coin offering.

ConsenSys CEO Joseph Lubin stoked the issue once again in a recent interview. “The CFTC has spoken very crisply a number of times that they consider Ether like a commodity,” he said and added that it was a “foregone conclusion” at this point. “There may be a regulator or two that can’t bring himself to utter the fact that ether is not a security but I don’t why that’s the case.”

A Security or A Commodity?

Certainly Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC) is not one of them. He is busy making the rounds of California-based venture capitalist firms that have invested billions of dollars in cryptocurrency projects to reassure them that ether is “obviously” not a security.

Both of them, obviously, have not taken a look at Ethereum’s staking program, which is a fertile venue to pump rewards for investors using flimsy meme coins as excuses. Or, they haven’t looked at the concentration of holders for ether. Or, they haven’t analyzed the work of Ethereum Foundation in managing the affairs on its blockchain by selling ether near the top. All of these are instances that clearly point to ether’s status as a security.

Ethereum the chain may have value in the future of finance. Ether, the token, is mostly useless.