John E. Deaton, the XRP pro-lawyer, hits hard at the Microstrategy founder for agreeing with the United States SEC chairman that all crypto assets other than bitcoin (BTC) are securities.
The lead SEC officer Gary Gensler who has been all-out to achieve crypto regulation through enforcement recently asserted that only Bitcoin, the top-ranked cryptocurrency isn’t regarded as a security.
Notably, he made these claims in a February 23 New York Magazine interview, where the agency’s case against collapsed FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried was also being discussed. According to him, “everything other than bitcoin” is a potential target as their offerings violate securities law.
As expected, there have been different reactions to these comments from Gensler. While the broader crypto community countered the SEC chairman’s views on alternative coins, Michael Saylor, a BTC maximalist and the founder of Microstrategy — the largest known institutional BTC investor — concurred.
As per a tweet, Saylor stated that all altcoins would be restrained by the SEC in the future. He added that Bitcoin is the only crypto asset that doesn’t fall under the agency’s purview. Recall that Saylor urged the SEC to shut down all altcoins including XRP and ETH in a previous report by Times Tabloid.
He said, “Consensus is building that everything in the crypto industry other than Bitcoin is a security, destined to be regulated by the SEC. This makes BTC the only crypto-asset suitable for use as global money.”
Consensus is building that everything in the #Crypto industry other than #Bitcoin is a security, destined to be regulated by the @SECGov. This makes $BTC the only crypto-asset suitable for use as global money.https://t.co/4XK6wWbz7G
— Michael Saylor⚡️ (@saylor) February 26, 2023
Crypto Community Reactions
Among those who responded to the latest claims on altcoins included the U.S. attorney representing thousands of XRP holders in the Ripple-SEC case blasted Saylor. According to him, the Microstrategy boss is attempting to lure people into moving their money out of alts to BTC for his benefit.
It’s worth noting that Saylor and his company bought a bunch of BTC during the bull market last year. Deaton implies that their exposure to BTC is the trigger to his mistaken statements. He wrote:
“Not true. Outside of Gary Gensler’s brain and BTC Maxis, there’s no consensus everything other than Bitcoin is a security. There certainly isn’t a consensus within the legal community. Software code is NOT a security. It, like any other asset, can be offered and sold as a security.
Saylor is a scientist from MIT. He’s a brilliant guy and he knows what he’s saying is not true. It is intended to push a narrative that drives dollars out of alts and into Bitcoin. Considering Mike and MicroStrategy’s bet on Bitcoin, it’s difficult to blame him.”
Not true. Outside of @GaryGensler’s 🧠 and #BTC Maxis, there’s no consensus everything other than #Bitcoin is a security. There certainly isn’t a consensus w/in the legal community. Software code is NOT a security. It, like any other asset, can be offered and sold as a security. https://t.co/MokmwLr7Ok
— John E Deaton (@JohnEDeaton1) February 27, 2023
Likewise, a fellow United States attorney, Jake Chervinsky noted that the SEC lacks the authority to regulate any cryptocurrency, citing that Gensler’s prejudgment and opinion are not the law.
Chair Gensler may have prejudged that every digital asset aside from bitcoin is a security, but his opinion is not the law. The SEC lacks authority to regulate any of them until and unless it proves its case in court. For each asset, every single one, individually, one at a time.
— Jake Chervinsky (@jchervinsky) February 26, 2023
