SEC chairman Jay Clayton stated clearly on CNBC Squakbox that Bitcoin is not securities such as ICOs since it is not being used to raise capital. They have also said that they will come up with regulations to safeguard consumer funds into Bitcoin which they consider as a store of value in 2021.
i was excited at first, thinking this was something that might lay the groundwork for an ETF approval.
if you look into what clayton said exactly, he implied it won't be the SEC that comes up with new regulations, but other agencies like the IRS, FINCEN, CFTC.
Pressed by Sorkin as to why the SEC doesn’t currently regulate Bitcoin, Clayton said, “Well, let’s put it this way: We do not regulate Bitcoin as a security. When people use crypto assets as securities to raise capital for a venture, the SEC regulates that. And what was happening in the ICO craze was people were using ICOs and essentially making public offerings of securities without registering them with the SEC.”
Clayton clarified that the SEC “determined that Bitcoin was not a security, it was much more a payment mechanism and store of value,” before adding, “the government does regulate payments.”
Even if the SEC isn’t regulating Bitcoin, other government agencies, like the IRS and FinCEN (the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network), could potentially expand the ways in which they already do.
I think this legitimizes Bitcoin and paves the way for more institutional investment.
well it's just talk really, but this is a truly great advertisement coming from a top USA regulator:
"Our current payment mechanisms--have inefficiencies and those inefficiencies are the things that are driving the rise of bitcoin." -jay clayton
Oddly enough Bitcoin was made for poor people but now the rich are taking it over slowly.
i don't think it was made for poor people. it was made so that all people could sidestep banks and other middlemen.