Security or not a Security?
The biggest news our today is when a SEC official came out and said the Bitcoin and Ethereum yup BOTH of these cryptos are not a security.
However they also stated they many but not all ICOs are which will come under regulatory control at some point.
The key points which are putting these claims to test are the following.
Decentralization - The more decentralized a coin is the better. If there is no figure head or person or group pushing the project and coin and seek profits from it then it can not be considered a security.
Many ICOs have a central figurehead which promotes the project and creates it with the goal of making a profit.
Greatly puts Ripple at risk since it does have a central group/figurehead which is pushing the coin for profits. (sorry Ripple I knew you where bad news from day one)
While there has been no official announcement on this yet to me it does seem like bitcoin and Ethereum would not fall into the securities area.
The pure definition of a security is
Debt securities (banknotes, bonds and debentures)
Equity securities ( common stocks)
derivatives ( forwards, futures, options and swaps)
The above don't touch bitcoin at all at least in the first few years of startup. It is only now that some exchanges are starting to offer these options which to me would put the exchange into a security and have to be regulated but not bitcoin itself.
Needless to say the rally that has started seems to be related to this news.
What are you thoughts?
Decentralization, where no single party has the ability to manipulate or cause fraud, gives authorities no good reason to intervene. ICOs that take in capital centrally, and manage it, will be required to follow SEC regulations for securities.
This headline could change the entire sentiment and landscape of the crypto market, is it rally time again?
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I don't understand why people ever thought that a crypto currency that is centralized in some way or form would be a good idea when the whole decentralization thing is one of the biggest pros of bitcoin.
Just as this other coin, I can't remember the name, apparently has no real cap to it's total amount, yet people were buying into it even though having said cap is what made bitcoin great.
I'm no genius when it comes to crypto and finances, but these did not seem all that reasonable to me.