Correction: If Ripple wins, only XRP will be safe. Not even Bitcoin
John Deaton stands corrected amid the recent and bizarre turn of events.
A recent turn of events saw the Securities and Exchange Commission denying it ever made an official statement on the nature of Ether or Bitcoin.
Ripple and its co-defendants have gathered several statements from SEC officials in text, audio, and video that would suggest otherwise, but the agency insists those were only personal opinions.
BTC safe? John Deaton stands corrected
XRP Holders attorney John Deaton has recently commented on the necessary conditions for a win-win situation for both Ripple and the SEC.
In particular, the importance of a couple of rulings and a bull market to transform XRP into the only altcoin with regulatory clarity in the United States, while allowing the SEC to score a huge sum on settlement.
According to John Deaton’s theory, if Ripple wins the SEC lawsuit, only Bitcoin and XRP will be safe from the securities regulator. His statement can be found here.
Since those words, the SEC said it has not officially declared BTC and ETH as compliant cryptos, although there are many public videos that show top SEC figures, including Bill Hinman and ex-SEC Chair Jay Clayton explicitly commenting on the two coins on behalf of the agency, not to mention the famous Hinman’s 2018 speech.
This seems to be quite a bizarre turn of events that, if holding true, John Deaton will stand corrected in regard to his prediction: Bitcoin is no longer safe from a potential SEC enforcement action.
The SEC’s unstable positions may weigh on Judge Sarah Netburn’s decision to rule in favor of Ripple’s motion to compel the SEC to hand over the documents about their thoughts on BTC, ETH, and XRP.
Such ruling would be critical for a potential win on the fair notice defense and could lead to John Deaton’s prediction, except for the Bitcoin part.
SEC infighting continues
This change of heart only adds to the confusion over the regulatory framework for digital assets, although SEC Chair Gary Gensler says there is clarity.
Yesterday, SEC Commissioners Hester Peirce and Elad Roisman have criticized the SEC’s Chair agenda for coming up short on furthering investor protection by failing to provide more clarity on digital assets.
“First, the Agenda makes no mention of any regulation with respect to digital assets. In the last several years, this sector has grown in size, complexity, diversity, and investor interest. Rather than taking on the difficult task of formulating rules to allow investors and regulated entities to interact with digital assets, including digital asset securities, the Agenda—through its silence on crypto—signals that the market can expect continued questions around the application of our securities laws to this area of increasing investor interest. Such silence emboldens fraudsters and hinders conscientious participants who want to comply with the law”.
