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Heads up: The CLARITY Act is not law. Statuses are rules-based estimates from public evidence, not legal or financial advice.
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Ethereum vs Solana: which is a security?

Likely status under the proposed CLARITY Act, side by side. Last updated Oct 19, 2026.

Verdict

On current evidence both are rated "Likely digital commodity" (ETH: High, SOL: Medium-High confidence). Neither has a stronger case than the other.

EthereumETH
Likely statusLikely digital commodity
SolanaSOL
Likely statusLikely digital commodity

Confidence

ETH:
SOL:

Main reason

ETH: named as a digital commodity in the SEC's March 2026 interpretation (with CFTC guidance).
SOL: named as a digital commodity in the SEC's March 2026 interpretation (with CFTC guidance).

US exchange access

ETH: Coinbase (US incl. NY)
SOL: Coinbase (US incl. NY)

ETFs / CFTC futures

ETH: US-listed ETH exchange-traded products trading as of Oct 19, 2026 (per tracker): iShares Ethereum Trust (ETHA), Fidelity FETH, staking ETFs …
A CFTC-registered exchange (Bitnomial) certified listed spot ETH contracts.
CME lists Ether futures, including Spot-Quoted Ether futures.
SOL: US-listed SOL exchange-traded products trading as of Oct 19, 2026 (per tracker): Bitwise BSOL, Fidelity FSOL, VanEck VSOL, Grayscale GSOL an…
CME lists SOL futures, including Spot-Quoted SOL futures (Dec 15, 2025).

Key official sources

ETH: CFTC: A CFTC-registered exchange (Bitnomial) certified listed spot ETH contracts. ↗
Federal Register (SEC & CFTC): The SEC's March 2026 interpretation lists Ether (ETH) as an example of a 'digital commodity' (not itself a security), ba… ↗
CFTC: CFTC complaint against Binance states ETH is a 'commodity'. ↗
SOL: Federal Register (SEC & CFTC): The SEC's March 2026 interpretation lists Solana (SOL) as an example of a 'digital commodity' (not itself a security), b… ↗
SEC: The SEC dismissed the Coinbase case in Feb 2025, explicitly not based on any assessment of the merits. ↗
SEC: In 2023 the SEC alleged SOL was a crypto asset security (SEC v. Coinbase complaint). ↗

Questions

Is Ethereum or Solana more likely to be a security?

On current evidence both are rated "Likely digital commodity" (ETH: High, SOL: Medium-High confidence). Neither has a stronger case than the other. Not legal advice.

Is ETH a security?

Probably not, on current evidence. ClarityCheck rates Ethereum as a likely digital commodity (high confidence): Named as a digital commodity in the SEC's March 2026 interpretation (with CFTC guidance). This is not legal advice, and the CLARITY Act is not law.

Is SOL a security?

Probably not, on current evidence. ClarityCheck rates Solana as a likely digital commodity (medium-high confidence): Named as a digital commodity in the SEC's March 2026 interpretation (with CFTC guidance). This is not legal advice, and the CLARITY Act is not law.

Full ETH evidence → · Full SOL evidence →

Not legal, financial or investment advice. The CLARITY Act is not law. Facts are from the linked sources as checked on Oct 19, 2026; please tell us if anything is out of date.