SEC Identifies 16 Crypto Tokens as Securities
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has labeled 16 crypto tokens as securities in its lawsuit against cryptocurrency exchange Kraken. The SEC named several crypto assets, including ADA, AXS, ALGO, ATOM, CHZ, COTI, DASH, FIL, FLOW, ICP, MANA, MATIC, NEAR, OMG, SAND, and SOL.
Some of these assets had been named in previous legal cases, such as those involving Coinbase, Binance, and Bittrex. According to SEC Chairman Gary Gensler, almost all crypto tokens, excluding bitcoin, are considered securities. However, a recent court ruling classified XRP as “not necessarily a security on its face.”
In June, the SEC named several crypto assets, including ICP, AXS, CHZ, FLOW, DASH, VGX, FIL, NEXO, NEAR, ADA, SAND, and SOL, as investment contracts in its lawsuit against Coinbase. The securities regulator also identified 12 crypto tokens as securities in a lawsuit against Binance in the same month.
In response to the SEC’s charges, Kraken’s CEO stated that the exchange strongly disagrees with the SEC’s claims and plans to vigorously defend its position. Following the SEC’s lawsuit, U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis called on Congress to pass a regulatory framework to provide clear rules to the SEC on what is a security and what is a commodity, stating that the SEC cannot continue ruling by enforcement because it causes unnecessary harm to consumers.
Hot Take: SEC’s Lawsuit Against Kraken
The SEC’s lawsuit against Kraken has stirred significant controversy and renewed calls for regulatory clarity to differentiate between crypto securities and commodities. This legal battle could potentially reshape the crypto industry’s landscape and impact how exchanges operate in the future.
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