- Charles Hoskinson has responded to the SEC’s claim that Cardano’s native token ADA is a security, exposing the SEC.
- IOG notes that the claim by the SEC contains numerous factual inaccuracies and will not impact the company’s operations in any way.
After a landmark case was brought against two of the largest crypto exchanges in the world- Binance and Coinbase, by the SEC, market leaders are joining in support. According to the regulator, Binance and its CEO Changepeng Zhao have been involved in an extensive web of deception, conflicts of interest, lack of disclosure, and calculated evasion of the law. The regulator further names a list of tokens traded on the exchange that it believes to be securities. Among the named ‘securities’ is Cardano’s ADA.
Charles Hoskinson who has long advocated for regulations in the crypto industry explaining that this would promote institutional investment as well as protect investors has responded to the SEC. Hoskisnon has now called on the crypto community to be united to fight against the government’s attack on crypto.
He explained that in a series of steps to implement Chokepoint 2.0, the end goal being an agenda-based CBDC partnered with a handful of massive banks and end-to-end control over every aspect of citizens’ financial life.
With respect to Binance, I'm reading through the SEC complaint. It's over 130 pages, but seems like the next in a series of steps to implement chokepoint 2.0 in the United States. The end goal is a agenda based CBDC partnered with a handful of massive banks and end-to-end control…
— Charles Hoskinson (@IOHK_Charles) June 5, 2023
Input Output (IOG) which was founded by Charles Hoskinson and is mandated with the research and development of Cardano has also responded. The company accuses the SEC of filing a complaint with numerous factual inaccuracies. It also insists that ADA is not security based on its decentralized nature. In a blog post, the company wrote;
Under no circumstances is ADA a security under U.S. securities laws. It never has been.
The company also called out the SEC on its approach to regulation by enforcement. This was initially demonstrated by Ripple when the regulator brought against the San Francisco-based fintech company accused of selling unregistered securities in the form of XRP.
IOG continues to welcome cross-industry collaborations with regulators to help develop frameworks, which not only safeguard consumers, but do not stifle innovation within the communities building decentralized protocols. This latest filing from the SEC demonstrates that we still have a long way to go in this regard.
It is clear that now leaders in the crypto industry need to unite and work together to fend off the attack from regulators. Gary Gensler in particular has been hostile to the industry going as far far as stating that all cryptocurrencies other than Bitcoin could be securities.
The crypto community has drawn irony from the fact that the SEC was unable to go after FTX which was blatantly misusing users’ funds. In fact, the regulatory agency was seen to be accommodating the exchange’s CEO.
Cardano has recently proposed transitioning into a fully decentralized autonomous organization (DAO), giving power back to ADA holders. If this upgrade is implemented, its token could be fully regarded as a token by regulators.
