In a recent tweet came a surprising statement from a former SEC official. The statement came from John Reed Stark, former head of the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Internet Enforcement Office. Stark took the cryptocurrency market by surprise, suggesting that Bitcoin could be an unregistered security. Here are the details…
Stark calls for ‘securities’ for biggest cryptocurrency
Bitcoin may be trading as an unregistered security, according to a recent tweet by John Reed Stark, former director of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Internet Enforcement Office. Stark responded to a tweet from Ethereum supporter Evan Van Ness on Twitter. He reacted after seeing Ness’ message about the intensification of the Bitcoin mining industry. Stark used the following statements:
And once again, why isn’t Bitcoin qualifying as a security that needs to be registered with the SEC?
And how is it again that bitcoin is not a security which requires SEC registration? https://t.co/n7CYdVS7YY
— John Reed Stark (@JohnReedStark) December 28, 2022
Van Ness said that only five companies, Antpool, FoundryUSA, f2pool, ViaBTC and Binance, have mined 850 of the previous 1,000 blocks on the Bitcoin network. According to the data, these companies produce more than 80 percent of all blocks. Moreover, more than 50 percent of this output is shared between Antpool and FoundryUSA.
Gensler thinks Bitcoin is a commodity
On the other hand, Gary Gensler, Chairman of the US Securities and Exchange Commission, reaffirmed his belief that Bitcoin (BTC) is a commodity earlier this year. Bitcoin supporters were very happy with this situation. Gensler’s comments supported the idea that Bitcoin should be viewed separately from other tokens classified as “crypto” as before.
SEC in legal fight against Ripple
Currently executing a lawsuit with Ripple, the SEC is in the process of investigating different crypto assets. However, the most important is his ongoing lawsuit with Ripple. He also made many headlines with his latest attack on HEX. The former SEC official’s recent statement risks sparking another attack by the SEC against Bitcoin. In anticipation of the verdict, John Deaton, a pro-XRP activist and cryptocurrency lawyer, asked his followers how the SEC v Ripple case would turn out. Most people now think that the case will end in reconciliation, not judgment.
In the midst of all the drama, it’s hard to predict the SEC’s next move. For many, 2023 will be an interesting year for crypto regulation. Because, cryptocoin.com As we have also reported, in 2022, there were developments such as the collapse of FTX and Terra. It is worth noting that these reduce trust towards cryptos. But as the SEC makes new regulations, it could be a turning point for US-based crypto investors.