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Some evidence that the Howey test isn't that objective and clear: 1) Gary Gensler, now SEC chairman, used to claim that 3/4 of the cryptocurrency market were n

Some evidence that the Howey test isn't that objective and clear: 1) Gary Gensler, now SEC chairman, used to claim that 3/4 of the cryptocurrency market were not securities[0]. He has changed his tune significantly since then. 2) The SEC chairman can't answer this simple question: "is Ethereum a commodity or a security?"[1]. [0] https://twitter.com/ZK_shark/status/1650689125580668931 https://twitter.com/ZK_shark/status/1650689125580668931 [1] https://youtu.be/h_oAr4wn7M4?t=1048 https://youtu.be/h_oAr4wn7M4?t=1048

JumpCrisscross 3y ago
> Gary Gensler, now SEC chairman, used to claim that 3/4 of the cryptocurrency market were not securities[0]. He has changed his tune significantly since then. Has he? Most of the market is Bitcoin and Ethereum. To my knowledge, the SEC hasn't gone after anyone solely cashing trading those. > 2) The SEC chairman can't answer this simple question: "is Ethereum a commodity or a security? He also doesn't have to answer whether a taco is a sandwich. There haven't been any enforcement actions based solely on whether Ethereum is a security. Binance launched an ICO. Zhao raised hundreds of millions of dollars from investors, and then co-mingled investors' and clients' assets with his own. Their CCO admitted, in writing, to running an "unlicensed securities exchange." The poster child for web3 and crypto folks having no place near our financial system is such protestations that the law isn't clear. It's abundantly clear in the places it's being broken.
- johndhi 3y ago
  The fact that there have or haven't been enforcement actions against X or Y shouldn't be how we're supposed to determine what is or isn't illegal. There should be a speed limit (65mph) and if you drive over the speed limit, you should know you're violating the law. If the speed limit is "if the cops pull you over, you violated the law" then we have no clarity for entrepreneurs. At least some level of clarity for entrepreneurs is critical to a healthy economy.
  - Tesl 3y ago
    They aren't entrepreneurs, they are crooks.
- imtringued 3y ago
  Most company ICOs are clearly securities. Everything else is most likely not.

JumpCrisscross 3y ago

> Gary Gensler, now SEC chairman, used to claim that 3/4 of the cryptocurrency market were not securities[0]. He has changed his tune significantly since then. Has he? Most of the market is Bitcoin and Ethereum. To my knowledge, the SEC hasn't gone after anyone solely cashing trading those. > 2) The SEC chairman can't answer this simple question: "is Ethereum a commodity or a security? He also doesn't have to answer whether a taco is a sandwich. There haven't been any enforcement actions based solely on whether Ethereum is a security. Binance launched an ICO. Zhao raised hundreds of millions of dollars from investors, and then co-mingled investors' and clients' assets with his own. Their CCO admitted, in writing, to running an "unlicensed securities exchange." The poster child for web3 and crypto folks having no place near our financial system is such protestations that the law isn't clear. It's abundantly clear in the places it's being broken.

johndhi 3y ago
The fact that there have or haven't been enforcement actions against X or Y shouldn't be how we're supposed to determine what is or isn't illegal. There should be a speed limit (65mph) and if you drive over the speed limit, you should know you're violating the law. If the speed limit is "if the cops pull you over, you violated the law" then we have no clarity for entrepreneurs. At least some level of clarity for entrepreneurs is critical to a healthy economy.
- Tesl 3y ago
  They aren't entrepreneurs, they are crooks.
imtringued 3y ago
Most company ICOs are clearly securities. Everything else is most likely not.