SEC Says Bitcoin and Ethereum are NOT Securities

in bitcoin •  6 years ago  (edited)

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently gave some good news to the crypto world, putting some worries and fears at rest. In March 2018, the crypto market took a downturn after the SEC said it was looking closer into cryptocurrencies.

Bitcoin was above $10,000 at that time, but then sunk by 10% when the SEC announcement came. The worst was feared: Bitcoin regulation as a security. The word "exchange" carries the impression that they are SEC registered and are regulated market places, when they are not. Crypto markets using the term exchange can give investors the impression they are regulated or meet regulator standards as a national securities exchange.

The uncertain future caused doubt and fear in holders, with a big sell off following. All those worries were for not, as it turns out. William Hinman, Director, Division of Corporation Finance at SEC, says Bitcoin and Ethereum are not considered securities under US law. Native cryptocurrencies like Ethereum and Bitcoin don't benefit a single organization or company, and are not securities.

The crypto market rebounded for a short time, cling up $20 billion, from $271 to $291 billion.


Source

But does that mean Steem will be safe? Steem was created by a company called Steemit Inc. Bitcoin and Ethereum will be safe from regulation as a security, but Steem might not be. I'm not sure. Steemit Inc does hold a large portion of the supply, so it would seem to benefit them greatly.

Hinman mentioned the worrisome initial coin offering (ICO) aspect of Ethereum. But despite the token sale of Ether, the decentralized structure and state of the network eliminate Ether being categorized as a security.

"And 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. And, as with Bitcoin, applying the disclosure regime of the federal securities laws to current transactions in Ether would seem to add little value."

Ether spiked up 12% after that announcement, but was corrected soon after as it fell back down to the slump that crypto is experiencing overall. The downtrend in crypto remains strong despite such good news from the SEC which allowed a brief respite and breather from the constant falling value in the market.

Crypto will grow despite it's recent slump. Coinbase is the largest cryptocurrency exchange and waller int he world, based in the US, which will likely be supporting Ethetreum ERC20 token stands in teh future. Bittrex is also based in the US, and is actively working with lawyers to list ERC20 tokens in compliance with local regulations.


Thank you for your time and attention. Peace.

References: Crypto Market Rebounds as SEC Clarifies Bitcoin and Ethereum are Not Securities | Bitcoin and ether are not securities, but some initial coin offerings... | Bitcoin and Ether Aren’t Securities, Says SEC Official


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I am surprised that they would rule out Ethereum, based on how it was created. My understanding is it is the ICO nature that they are looking at to declare whether it is a security or not, which if true would make Steem safe.

I really thought we would have one more bull run before July, and possibly still will although I thought it would be before now. The G20 is to meet next month to discuss regulation plans they were to come up with.

https://www.coindesk.com/g20-calls-crypto-regulation-recommendations-july/

I am going to guess there will be a lot of FUD in the weeks before that meeting driving the bear market into overdrive. Then as the regulations are put in, the big money will pour in scooping up a lot of bargains and send prices soaring unlike anything we have ever seen.

Of course, I am not a financial expert and my opinion is not to be taken as financial advice by anyone reading this. It is an opinion only offered for entertainment purposes, not to be confused with any governmental agency approved experts advice.

Summer isn't over, bull run later like you say, rich buy up from people dumping in FUD ;) Who knows, we;re not the ones with money to pump and dump ;)

Yes, whenever something sounds centralised then for sure that reflects as influenced and yes, sometimes Centralised forces can try to bring the FUD in Crypto Sphere because at the end Cryptocurrencies are hurting the Central Entities and they hold the fear of losing the control over people. And the nature of Cryptocurrency Market is so volatile and small wave of speculations can bring big actions and that is because this is new dynasty and people don't hold much knowledge and sometimes they get influenced by others and this influence can greatly heart and can create weak hands.

I believe in Humanity and i want full control of people and not by some Entities or Elites who control every country. So it's upon people because one person brings Revolution only in movies but in reality people can bring the true revolution in numbers and when stay and move collectively. So we have to support Crypto because it's the true Revolution.

Thanks for sharing this post with us and wishing you an great day. Stay blessed. 🙂

Yup, it takes number in reality. It's up to each individual though to move with others towards common direction ;)

That's true. 🙂

Very bullish news coming out of the SEC

The SEC ruling was clear as mud. They seemed to be saying that BTC and ETH were cryptocurries and therefore not securities but that tokens might well be securities. WTF?

So all SMT’s would by definition be tokens, making them securities???

I dunno... lol

This is great news as it allows ETH to keep growing without strict regulations from the SEC!

The escape from intense regulations is definitely a good thing. Maybe we'll see the market respond positivelying to this?

I thought the algorithm was what enforced the regulations?

it seems that the currency pricing can be manipulated with pump and dump tactics.

Yet we have bitcoin futures being manipulated in the markets. Odd. Thanks @krnel

I think regulation is going to be key in the long-term. Could be an interesting few months.

I have stopped looking at daily price action. M slowly building my portfolio.

  ·  6 years ago Reveal Comment

Yup, it's tricky. EOS block.one is going to pay out their 10% over the years, not keep is. Steemit Inc has not plans to do this officially.