In America, politicians all over the country are trying to persuade the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to change its approach towards cryptocurrencies. Politicians are announcing their stance towards blockchain and cryptos for the 2020 election campaign, while some are even accepting cryptos as donations for their campaign. Due to the laws in America, politicians have to declare any assets they hold, including cryptocurrencies. Scores of politicians have disclosed their crypto hodlings, with none taking a bigger hit in the crypto markets than Tulsi Gabbard – the democratic representative from Hawaii.
While politicians are happy and making friends with cryptos, the SEC appears to be waging war on the industry. It has declined multiple Bitcoin ETF applications and looks set to dish out more bad news this week. This has forced a group of politicians to band together and send a letter to the SEC.
SEC Politely Roasted
The letter was rather polite in tone, with it essentially claiming that the SEC is killing the American crypto industry. It also made it clear that if it doesn’t stop being so stupid then crypto firms will settle in other countries, leaving America out in the cold. It was cosigned by 10 representatives from both parties, highlighting that the one thing both parties can agree on is the SEC being a crypto blockade. The SEC has recently changed a few key personnel, but it appears as if American politicians still don’t have much faith in its decision-making process.
Judges Ruling on Their Own
When it comes to defining whether cryptos are commodities or assets, a number of judges have taken matters into their own hands and made their own rulings. One judge in America has ruled that cryptos are mostly commodities, as they fit the broad rules and regulations set out by the US Commodities and Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). This essentially means that cryptocurrencies are not used to fund a business and are instead a tradeable asset like a currency, rather than a stock or share.
SEC Close to Another Decision
The SEC is due to announce its decision on the VanEck Bitcoin ETF in the coming weeks, but the crypto community is slowly losing hope. The SEC has asked the wider crypto community for advice on how to proceed and we can expect to hear its final result in the next few weeks.
While there is no guarantee that this letter will produce the desired outcome, at least politicians are doing all they can to help the crypto community. This group of politicians is right in the sense that if the SEC continues to decline Bitcoin ETF applications, companies will go elsewhere to list them. This will then negatively impact on the American crypto scene and crypto firms could end up leaving the country for a more crypto -friendly jurisdiction, such as Malta or Cyprus.
