- SEC Chair Gary Gensler called Algorand (ALGO) and other crypto tokens “securities” in a recent lawsuit against crypto exchange Bittrex.
- Gensler has praised Algorand’s founder Silvio Micali in the past and said that Algorand is a “great technology.”
- ALGO had an interesting reaction to the news.
The current bear market has been one of the worst for the crypto industry. Multiple companies have gone bust, and asset prices have fallen significantly.
On top of that, regulators, especially those in the U.S., keep serving Wells Notices and lawsuits and providing comments that seem to confuse the industry. The latest example is Gary Gensler calling Algorand’s coin ALGO a security despite having praised it in the past.
SEC Chair Gary Gensler Calls Algorand ‘Security’
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a new crypto-related lawsuit on Monday. The regulatory agency charged crypto exchange Bittrex with violating federal securities laws.
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The SEC alleged that the exchange failed to register as an exchange, broker, or clearing agency. Former CEO Bill Shihara and Bittrex Global GmbH are also facing charges.
However, it wasn’t the lawsuit against Bittrex that made the headlines. In the lawsuit, the SEC called Algorand (ALGO), along with OMG Network (OMG), Dash (DASH), Tokencard (TKN), and I-House Token (IHT) unregistered securities.
What’s especially interesting about this statement is that SEC Chair Gary Gensler himself has praised Algorand and its founder Silvio Micali, a Turing award-winning MIT professor and the inventor of zero-knowledge proofs, in the past.
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In a video going viral on social media after the Bittrex lawsuit, Gensler is seen on a stage talking about blockchain technology and how it can revolutionize apps like Uber and Lyft. He then references Algorand and Micali, saying that Algorand is a “great technology that you can create Uber on top of.”
It’s unclear what Gensler actually thinks of Algorand or why he’s suddenly calling ALGO a security.
ALGO didn’t have a strong reaction to the news. The coin is trading at $0.22, flat on the day, according to data from CoinGecko. However, ALGO is down 94% from its all-time high of $3.56.
On the Flipside
- The SEC has yet to file any official charges against Algorand or its founder Silvio Micali.
Why You Should Care
If the SEC decides to go to court over the security claims, the crypto industry could have another Ripple story. This could have a more significant impact on the whole crypto industry.
Read more about Gary Gensler’s upcoming hearing:
Gensler Hearing: SEC Chair Wants to Go After “All Crypto Assets”
Read more about recent ARB price action:
Arbitrum Pumps 44% to New Highs as Whales Buy Millions of ARB
