• There is a lack of clarity on cryptocurrency regulations in the US, which has resulted in job cuts and fines for exchanges.
• SEC Chair Gary Gensler’s statement that all digital assets except Bitcoin are unregulated securities has been met with criticism.
• John Deaton of Cryptolaw claims there is a coordinated effort to bring down the crypto industry by US regulators and has initiated a class action lawsuit against the New York Attorney General.
Cryptocurrency Regulatory Uncertainty
The cryptocurrency regulatory uncertainty in the United States has had a significant impact on firms and exchanges operating in this space over the past few months, leading to over 2,000 job cuts this year alone. Most recently, Anchorage Digital cut 20 percent of its staff due to the situation. The call for clear crypto asset regulations remains unheard as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) continues speculating on which digital assets are securities or commodities.
SEC Approach Criticized
Recent statements from SEC Chair Gary Gensler that all digital assets besides Bitcoin are considered unregistered securities have been met with criticism from various figures in the industry. Coinbase Global Inc., which offers a similar staking program as Kraken, vowed to take legal action if need be against any attempts to shut down their services. This comes after Kraken was hit with a $30 million fine for allegedly issuing unregistered securities through its staking program.
Coordinated Effort To Bring Down Crypto Industry
John Deaton, founder of Cryptolaw, believes that US regulators are attempting to sink the cryptocurrency industry through legal means and is calling upon crypto enthusiasts to fight back during this period of uncertainty. He initiated a class action lawsuit against the New York Attorney General claiming Ethereum is not a security and already has over 1k participants involved with 57 coming from New York itself. Deaton also heard rumors about 200 enforcement actions planned by the SEC within two years targeting crypto markets specifically.
Impact On Digital Payments
Coinbase recently posted on Twitter that four out of five Americans use digital payments so it would be disadvantageous for America if staking operators were driven offshore due to restrictive regulation policies coming into effect soon; thus leaving them behind in terms of innovation compared to other countries around the world who have embraced cryptocurrency technology more openly until now .
Conclusion
It remains uncertain when exactly clear regulations surrounding cryptocurrencies will come into force but what does seem certain at this point is that until then these issues will continue being debated across different platforms without an end resolution in sight just yet – even till 2025 as per John Deaton’s estimation – so we can only hope that things get better sooner rather than later!
