Ex-SEC Lawyer Suggests Bitcoin Is Unregistered Security

[ad_1]

Alex Dovbnya

Centralized Bitcoin mining has been a hot topic in the cryptocurrency world for some time now.

In a recent tweet, John Reed Stark, former head of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of Internet Enforcement, suggested that Bitcoin might be an unregistered security.

After seeing a Twitter thread by Ethereum attorney Evan Van Ness about centralizing bitcoin mining, Stark responded with “And how come bitcoin still isn’t a security that requires registration? with the SEC?

In his Twitter feed, Van Ness notes that 850 of the last 1,000 blocks produced on the Bitcoin blockchain were mined by just five entities: Antpool, FoundryUSA, f2pool, ViaBTC, and Binance. The data suggests that these entities account for over 80% of total block production, and over 50% of production is split between just two entities, namely Antpool and FoundryUSA.

According to the SEC, a security can consist of stocks, bonds, and other related instruments that include shares of a company or an investment contract. It is believed that Bitcoin does not meet the definition of a security because it is decentralized, meaning no one owns or controls it. It is also not issued or traded centrally on any established market or exchange. Therefore, it is not subject to the requirements for registration with the SEC as a security.

As U.Today reports, Bitcoin proponents were thrilled when U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler boldly reaffirmed his belief that Bitcoin (BTC) is a commodity earlier this year. Gensler’s remarks seemingly confirmed a popular view that bitcoin should be viewed independently of other tokens labeled as “crypto.”

However, there is still a lot of uncertainty regarding the regulatory status of Ethereum. Gensler previously mentioned that the vast majority of tokens are unregistered securities.

[ad_2]