Emojis Are Financial Advice, Says Former SEC Branch Chief

Crypto Twitter flies off the handle as the rocket emoji is officially deemed ‘financial investment’.

Person with monkey head and a small man are sitting in a bus, giving financial advice through emojis.
  • Yesterday, U.S. Federal Judge declared that NBA Top Shot NFTs are securities.
  • Former SEC branch chief Lisa Braganca warns Crypto Twitter not to use emojis.
  • U.S. Federal Judge Victor Marrero used screenshotted rocket emoji as evidence.

Former United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) branch head Lisa Braganca took to Twitter to advise crypto enthusiasts to stop using the rocket emoji, money bags, and stock chart emojis when referring to NFTs or crypto. This was ruled by Judge Victor Marrero, who denied Dapper Labs’ motion to terminate the case.

Even though the lawsuit was filed two years ago by Jeeun Friel, a dissatisfied buyer of one of the NBA Top Shot Moments, not many crypto enthusiasts and lawyers believed that the lawsuit could actually go through. However, the judge decided to proceed with the lawsuit targeting Dapper Labs and its founder Roham Gharegozlou, based on the use of emojis on Twitter.

Crypto Twitter Flabbergasted Amid the News

Naturally, the always-buzzing Crypto Twitter audience took the conclusion with a pinch of salt, as the words in the affidavit actually state that “the ‘rocket ship’ emoji, ‘stock chart’ emoji, and ‘money bags’ emoji objectively mean one thing: a financial return on investment.” Unfortunately, many crypto traders on Twitter call it a “tragedy,” indicating that from now on, “Freedom of speech does not extend to your emojis.”

In response to such a conclusion, AshChild, a puzzled crypto investor and digital artist, explained that a sequence of rocket, stock, and money bag emojis has a totally different meaning for him. 

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To illustrate, by a ‘rocket emoji’ he’d meant a missile, while the following ‘stocks emoji’ and ‘money bag emoji’ are meant to tell the sob story of a missile hitting an “otherwise sound” crypto portfolio and, last but not least, the ‘money bag’ emoji marks putting the money in a trash bag, as opposed to making a profit.

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That would undoubtedly make a remarkable conversion in the courts, as emojis can be interpreted freely according to a person’s feelings and world outlook. Ultimately, the audacious ruling by U.S. Federal Judge Victor Marrero demonstrates the lack of adequate regulation about blockchain technology and crypto.

On The Flipside:

  • Despite the U.S. judge proceeding with this case, it doesn’t necessarily mean that all NFTs will be deemed as securities. According to the judge, the utilized Howey Test is too specific to apply the same non-fungible token (NFT) market regulations.

Why you should care:

The micro-blogging platform Twitter aims to be pro-free speech, simplifying the verification system and even allowing the return of controversial public figures banned by the previous owners. Ironically, emojis are no longer part of this agenda.

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This article is for information purposes only and should not be considered trading or investment advice. Nothing herein shall be construed as financial, legal, or tax advice. Trading forex, cryptocurrencies, and CFDs pose a considerable risk of loss.

Author
Tadas Klimasevskis

Tadas Klimaševskis is a Lithuanian journalist at DailyCoin, specializing in covering the lighter side of the crypto industry such as memecoins and pop culture in the metaverse. He has experience as a music artist, English language teacher, and freelance writer, and uses his creative writing skills to summarize valuable information in his work. He is also a strong believer in the potential of blockchain and spends his free time listening to music, traveling, and watching basketball games.