Ethereum definitely was, they just decided not to enforce the rules. Gensler I think recently re-iterated as much. And I don't really care the classification, I care that they're traded in a regulated venue. After all the CFTC has clear jurisdiction over ETH and BTC today.

> The SEC hasn't declared them currencies but neither are they securities.

They are commodities and fall under the purview of the CFTC, and are subject to their regulation.

> Ethereum launched as a network where you could perform functional operations more complex than Bitcoin, and was a bit before the SEC got its evaluation rules together (from what I understand), and so may have slipped under the radar; but it certainly wasn't a pump-and-dump scheme like many other ICOs have been.

Nope, they failed the Howey test which is the legal standard for determining whether something is a security. This was because they raised capital in their ICO. It was at the SECs discretion not to treat them as securities. Just because something isn't a pump-and-dump doesn't mean it's not a security. In fact, one would expect most securities not to be given it's kind of illegal. [1]

I know it is today considered a commodity, however, it was always a security as determined by the Howey test. The SEC elected not to treat it as one at its discretion.

[1] https://bitcoinist.com/secs-gary-gensler-crumbles-when-asked...