Crypto Crash: SEC Accused of Going ‘Rogue’

Recently, the head of the policy section of venture capitalist Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) accused the SEC of being “rogue” against crypto, especially during crash periods.

This is reported by Forbes, which quotes verbatim Brian Quintenz’s statements that from this point of view the SEC is completely out of control.

In fact, the risk that another “crypto crash” could occur is because of the SEC’s actions.

SEC’s position

The current chairman of the SEC, Gary Gensler, has repeatedly stated that among cryptocurrencies, only Bitcoin is definitively a security. In fact, he recently reiterated that he believes that all Proof-of-Stake-based cryptocurrencies, such as Ethereum, will be unregistered securities.

Now the crypto industry sees Gensler as an enemy, i.e. someone trying to get in the way, although in reality he appears to be a Bitcoin maximalist rather than a no-coiner.

It is worth noting that Quintenz was previously a commissioner of the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), which is the agency that actually goes against the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and claims that cryptocurrencies would instead be commodities.

There is something of a clash between these two agencies, as both seem to want to take on the task of overseeing the crypto markets, the former considering them commodities, the latter securities.

Thus, the SEC’s position right now is not necessarily the same as that of the US government or Congress, so much so that some argue that sooner or later Gensler will have to let go.

It is no coincidence that Quintenz is asking the US to make a final decision on this, because the current uncertainty is not good for anyone.

The eventual crypto crash

Cryptocrash in 2022 has nothing to do with it.

But should the SEC’s approach pass, it could be another.

However, a distinction must be made between the Bitcoin market and the altcoin market.

The Bitcoin market will probably move forward regardless. Also, if altcoins should suddenly become difficult to trade, Bitcoin may benefit in the medium to long term, because at that time a lot of investment and speculative capital may move from altcoins to Bitcoin.

However, for altcoins, and thus for the crypto market as a whole, it could be a disaster.

In fact, what Gensler is advocating for in its current state would involve the immediate withdrawal of all altcoins from all centralized exchanges operating in the US, and the closure of altcoin trading for US users on all other regulated exchanges around the world as well.

So starting with Coinbase and passing through Binance, only Bitcoin and stablecoins will be left for US users.

The fact is that the United States is by far the largest market in the world for cryptocurrencies, and after such a decision, other countries may follow suit.

Altcoins will still be able to be exchanged in those countries where they may not have been considered a security, on decentralized exchanges and on centralized exchanges that operate in violation of laws.

All Against Cryptocurrencies?

Putting aside Bitcoin for a moment, which has a life of its own, there are even those who believe that right now the inner non-crypto financial world has it in for cryptocurrencies (especially altcoins).

According to Blockchain Association CEO Kristin Smith, there seems to be a blanket bombing of cryptocurrencies right now, with several legal experts questioning whether the US is an appropriate place to host crypto assets.

Unfortunately, the situation at the legal and regulatory level is still not completely clear, and this is what keeps hundreds or thousands of crypto companies based in the United States on their toes, which is the main market for this sector.

Meanwhile, the dreaded bank crash is convincing many people to invest some of their liquid savings in BTC, so much so that a million new Bitcoin addresses were created over the weekend.

Perhaps it is precisely the difficulties of the traditional banking sector that are causing those in it to lash out at the crypto world, as Bitcoin begins to look like a possible alternative, albeit only partially and only for specific uses.

Is this basically a fearful reaction to a possible deep and imminent change?