[There is nothing about the crypto securities markets that suggests that investors and issuers are less deserving of the protections of our securities laws](#highlight_151726) [Last year’s crypto bloodbath had seen the market cap plummet $2 trillion from its peak of $3 trillion that it had hit in late 2021.](#highlight_151727) [SEC has brought about 130 crypto lawsuits thus far, forcing smaller companies to shut down and others, who can afford the steep cost of litigation, to settlements.](#highlight_151729) [The new draft crypto bill comes amid growing fears in the crypto industry that the U.S.government and regulators are involved in a concerted effort to de-platform crypto](#highlight_151732) Last week saw US financial watchdog SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) filing two lawsuits in what is being seen as big steps amid its war against cryptocurrency.Jump To US SEC’s War Against Crypto SEC sued the world’s largest crypto exchange Binance , related entities and founder Changpeng Zhao first, and then its second suit came against Coinbase, another significantly large crypto exchange.”There is nothing about the crypto securities markets that suggests that investors and issuers are less deserving of the protections of our securities laws,” SEC chair Gary Gensler had said in a speech a few days ago.He added that crypto exchanges and promoters have long been aware of the rules of the road for trading in cryptos — through SEC orders and enforcement actions — but they have chosen to ignore them or dismiss them as they “may have made a calculated economic decision to take the risk of enforcement as the cost of doing business”.”You simply can’t ignore the rules because you don’t like them or because you’d prefer different ones: the consequences for the investing public are far too great,” Gurbir S.Grewal, head of the SEC’s enforcement division, said regarding the lawsuit against Coinbase, as per IANS report.
Starting out with nothing in 2009-10, the crypto industry currently has around $1 trillion market cap, operating mostly in a regulatory grey zone.Last year’s crypto bloodbath had seen the market cap plummet $2 trillion from its peak of $3 trillion that it had hit in late 2021.Why US SEC Is Against Crypto Crypto exchanges have contended that their offerings, tokens, are not like securities and, therefore, their exchanges are unlike those that need to subject themselves to the usual rules.
The US regulator disagrees.And under the leadership of Gensler, who was appointed by US President Joe Biden in 2021, it has sought to assert its jurisdiction over the crypto exchanges arguing, its offerings — tokens — are securities and they must be registered with the regulator as others and so should their exchanges.SEC has brought about 130 crypto lawsuits thus far, forcing smaller companies to shut down and others, who can afford the steep cost of litigation, to settlements.Bitcoin and Coinbase are looking at fines if judges side with the SEC or settlements.These are civil suits and will not lead to imprisonment, but the Department of Justice (DOJ) could jump in at any stage in these or other cases, and then jail terms become a possibility.Also Read: 5 Crypto Firms That Filed For Bankruptcy Besides FTX What SEC Said About FTX Fiasco Not just FTX , more such like disasters await investors because of crypto exchanges and their promoters’ defiance of rules that apply to securities trade in general.
“These types of misconduct and bankruptcies are more likely to happen in markets whose issuers and intermediaries fail to comply with foundational laws,” SEC chair Gensler has said, adding: “Even when we might not find fraud or such blatant misconduct, investors need proper disclosure, segregation of their hard-earned assets, and confidence that they are not trading against the house.” https://www.indiatimes.com/worth/news/binance-ceo-says-he-is-poor-again-after-terra-luna-crash-570076.html, which has denied the SEC charges and has said it will contest them in court, has been accused of, among other things, “wash trading” to boost trading volumes, the report mentioned.Also Read: How 10 Major Cryptocurrencies Have Performed Last Year What About US’ Crypto Bill? Now, amid fears a crypto “powder keg” could be about to ignite, U.S.lawmakers have proposed a “functional framework” aimed at providing regulatory clarity for bitcoin and crypto companies in the country, as per a Forbes report.The 162-page draft crypto bill, unveiled by House financial services committee chair Patrick McHenry, a Republican from North Carolina, and House agriculture committee chair Glenn Thompson, a Republican from Pennsylvania, is an attempt to kickstart discussions between Republicans and Democrats on the two committees, Bloomberg reported.In recent weeks, some of the largest U.S.
bitcoin and crypto companies have warned the country is falling behind the rest of the world on crypto legislation, with Hong Kong’s new regulatory regime coming into force this week alongside the Europe Union’s landmark markets in crypto assets (MiCA) regulation being signed into law.Major crypto exchanges, including the Nasdaq-listed Coinbase, have been feuding with regulators over whether certain cryptocurrencies are being sold and traded as unregistered securities.In late 2020, the U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sued Ripple, accusing the company of selling $1.3 billion in unregistered securities via its XRP cryptocurrency (Ripple’s chief executive has recently said he’s “confident” of an imminent outcome).”Operation Choke Point 2.0″ The new draft crypto bill comes amid growing fears in the crypto industry that the U.S.government and regulators are involved in a concerted effort to de-platform crypto from the banking system as “operation choke point 2.0″—a reference to a 2013 U.S.Department of Justice policy to lock industries thought to be high risk for fraud and money laundering out of the banking system.The new U.S.crypto bill—after several attempts to pass crypto legislation in previous sessions—proposes cryptocurrencies offered as part of an investment contract would fall under SEC oversight, while those that qualify as commodities would be overseen by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).Whether cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin, Ethereum , Binance ‘s BNB or Ripple’s XRP are defined as securities or commodities would depend on how decentralized their underlying blockchain is, decided by an SEC ruling.For the latest and more interesting financial news, keep reading Indiatimes Worth.
Click here .[WTF](/trending/wtf) [Technology](/explainers/technology) The Conversation (0) Start a conversation, not a fire.Post with kindness..
