Is an all-out crypto war coming? That’s the sentiment of many analysts now that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has sworn to sue Paxos, the issuer of stable coin BUSD. The agency says that the firm has been selling the asset as an unregistered security.
The SEC Clearly Hates Crypto
Under normal circumstances, this wouldn’t be any big deal. After all, it’s not like the SEC has had a great attitude towards crypto in the past, though it seems to be making a lot of headlines as of late. The situation is getting worse ever since the financial enterprise announced that it had settled with U.S. crypto exchange Kraken to collect a $30 million penalty fee. As part of the settlement, the exchange also swore it would be shutting down its staking services.
Many felt this was too far, and that the SEC is now waging war on the crypto sector rather than just trying to flounder it. Marcus Sotiriou – market analyst at digital asset broker Global Block – explained in a recent interview:
The SEC war on crypto is only just getting started.
Gary Gensler – the head of the SEC – warned that what’s going on with Kraken should put everyone in the crypto industry “on notice.” In other words, he’s not fooling around. He’s proud of the damage he’s causing, and he sees himself as some sort of financial warrior rather than someone who’s just out to destroy innovation and stop new technology in its path.
The news isn’t being taken well by the world’s leading assets. Up to this stage, BTC was holding steady at roughly $22K, though the recent announcement has caused the world’s number one digital currency to slink back somewhat. Joe DiPasquale – the CEO of Bit Bull Capital – chimed in on the situation and said:
While bitcoin has shown general resilience in this rally that started on January 1, we are now looking at a key level, which should, in the coming days, indicate whether the rally continues or if we see a steeper correction. After losing both $23,000 and $22,000 levels, bitcoin is now making an underside test, which could see it attempting to reclaim $23,000. If this fails, we could see the market leader falling toward $20,000 rather quickly. As usual, the market is also reliant on macroeconomic developments, and given how December consumer prices were found to be higher than previously expected, the market may start to consider a bigger rate hike in the next [Fed meeting].
What Will Happen with Regulations?
He continued with:
Regulations are also a concern for the crypto space, especially after the $30 million fine the SEC imposed on [the] Kraken exchange. That being said, we believe it is better to get regulatory clarity in a slow market, as opposed to stricter developments during a full-fledged bull market.
