Because they don't satisfy the Howey Test, which legally defines a security.

https://kurtalaw.medium.com/the-howey-test-the-supreme-court...

The way the absolute vast majority of this cesspool is used satisfies all the criteria.

I thought the status was that BTC was considered a commodity, and basically all the rest were considered securities?

The chairman of the Commodities and Futures Trading Commission, Rostin Behnam, told the Senate Agriculture Committee on 09 March 2023 that Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency next to Bitcoin, is a commodity. "We would not have allowed the Ether futures product to be listed on a CFTC exchange if we did not feel strongly that it was a commodity asset," he elaborated, stating that his agency has "serious legal defences" to support their case.

https://decrypt.co/123032/cftc-chair-says-ethereum-is-a-comm...

Ah, good to know, thanks!

Well, embarrassingly I made a typo, it should have been 08 March 2023, but no matter.

That is correct. Gary Gensler, head of the SEC, had publicly stated that he considers Bitcoin a commodity, not a security.

But it is not correct that "all the rest" are considered securities.

Also, the SEC does not determine what is and is not a security. That is determined in court. Gary Gensler can give guidance on what the SEC will take to court, but he is not the final word on what is a security.

All fair points.

Why shouldn't they just be considered currencies? It is something a group of people agree have value and they are willing to exchange with each other for goods and services.

The SEC does not care if you bring back Euros from vacation and they are worth more money when you find them in your backpack a year later and exchange them.

Because it isn’t a currency. Get back to me when we can agree that “I’m buying if you’re flying”.

You might be able to simulate a currency, but that does not make it so.