"Putting aside the fundraising that accompanied the creation of Ether, based on my understanding of the present state of Ether, the Ethereum network and its decentralized structure, current offers and sales of Ether are not securities transactions," William Hinman, who heads the Securities and Exchange Commission’s division of corporation finance

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-06-14/ether-surges-after-top-sec-official-says-it-s-not-a-security?utm_campaign=socialflow-organic&utm_content=crypto&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social