<story><title>Statement on Potentially Unlawful Online Platforms for Trading Digital Assets</title><url>https://www.sec.gov/news/public-statement/enforcement-tm-statement-potentially-unlawful-online-platforms-trading</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>TallGuyShort</author><text>So if some anonymous person invents cryptocurrencies, at what point are you supposed to be considered securities? If the first exchange had gone to SEC to register as a securities exchange, would the SEC not have laughed in their face? The headline itself really captures the ambiguity and uncertainty of all of this: &amp;quot;potentially unlawful&amp;quot;.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>gwbas1c</author><text>The reason why many cryptocurrencies are considered securities is because there&amp;#x27;s a certain group of people promoting them as in investment. They are claiming that their cryptocurrencies will rise in value.&lt;p&gt;If you study the definition of money, and what makes a good currency, there&amp;#x27;s no kind of money that rises in value merely because you own it. Money is meant to be spent or invested, not hoarded. (Adam Smith&amp;#x27;s &amp;quot;Wealth of Nations&amp;quot; gives a much better explanation in the first few chapters than I can.)&lt;p&gt;So, the point that you have to register as a security is the point that you start convincing people to own your cryptocurrency as in investment. At that point, your cryptocurrency isn&amp;#x27;t money; because money is meant to be spent.&lt;p&gt;How do you keep the SEC out of your cryptocurrency? Invent a cryptocurrency that functions as money. You will need to figure out how to keep the value stable on a day-to-day and year-to-year basis. That means that the supply needs to expand and contract quickly based on demand. &amp;quot;Mining&amp;quot; based cryptocurrencies can not do this.</text></comment>
<story><title>Statement on Potentially Unlawful Online Platforms for Trading Digital Assets</title><url>https://www.sec.gov/news/public-statement/enforcement-tm-statement-potentially-unlawful-online-platforms-trading</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>TallGuyShort</author><text>So if some anonymous person invents cryptocurrencies, at what point are you supposed to be considered securities? If the first exchange had gone to SEC to register as a securities exchange, would the SEC not have laughed in their face? The headline itself really captures the ambiguity and uncertainty of all of this: &amp;quot;potentially unlawful&amp;quot;.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>hackcasual</author><text>Securities are well defined, see &lt;a href=&quot;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&amp;#x2F;wiki&amp;#x2F;Securities_Exchange_Act_of_1934&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&amp;#x2F;wiki&amp;#x2F;Securities_Exchange_Act_of_193...&lt;/a&gt;&lt;p&gt;Really anything that gains value soley due to being promoted would be considered a security SEC v. WJ Howey Co:&lt;p&gt;&amp;gt; [a]n investment contract for purposes of the Securities Act means a contract, transaction or scheme whereby a person invests his money in a common enterprise and is led to expect profits solely from the efforts of the promoter or a third party.</text></comment>