EXCLUSIVE— While the debate over whether cryptocurrencies are actually currencies, securities, or somehow a mix of the two drags on, there’s another question crypto enthusiasts should ask: does it matter?

The question of whether to consider cryptos securities flared to life again last week, after former U.S. regulator Gary Gensler noted that in his mind, certain tokens — notably Ripple’s XRP token and ether — should be considered thus.

However, that’s not the most important point that should be considered, Jacob Eliosoff, cryptocurrency expert and general partner for crypto investment company Calibrated Markets, told Bank Innovation.

Eliosoff told Bank Innovation via email:

To me, the more practical question isn’t whether these things are securities, but what regulators will do about it – especially about trading of them.  Eg, if they suddenly shut down all XRP/ETH exchanges as unregistered, that would create havoc: I consider this unlikely.  If they declared them securities, but gave a multi-month deadline for exchanges to register, that would be far less disruptive.  And if in practice they allow exchanges to go on more or less as they are now, then how much does it matter whether they call these things securities or not?

One of the sticking points in this debate’s recent history has been the rise of Initial Coin Offerings: a method of fundraising that, after a popular beginning, has become beset with fraudulent and criminal offerings.

“The vast majority of, if not all, ICOs (aka token sales) satisfy many of the properties of a securities offering,” Eliosoff said in email. However, he added:

ETH clearly conducted an ICO in 2014, but as currently traded and used, it appears to be something nearer to a commodity (or to BTC) than to a security.  This is consistent with [SEC Chair Jay] Clayton’s comments on securities becoming non-securities, and inconsistent with Gensler’s.

This comes as the United States (and most of the countries experimenting with crypto and blockchain) have yet to establish any “clear and consistent regulatory policies on is-it-a-security,” as Eliosoff said, for now, leaving the question still unanswered.

XRP and ether remain the top two cryptocurrencies under bitcoin, with Ripple trading at $.84 and Ethereum trading at $683 as of 11:30am ET today.