Above all, legal frameworks regarding cryptocurrency are either nonexistent or in their infancy. Attempts to apply existing legal conceptual frameworks to crypto are not going to be entirely successful. New ways of conceiving and languaging what currency is and what legal rights exist around creating, possessing, and transferring it are necessary.
That is no longer in question here in the US, the federal chairman has already come out and defined that crypto currencies do in fact have value. They had to make that determination so people could move forward with lawsuits.
You do not have to be listed with the securities exchange to have your crypto treated the same as any other fiat.