On September 28th, a group of US congressmen sent a letter to the president of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Jay Clayton, asking him to clarify the regulatory framework surrounding cryptocurrency. The message, presented by more than a dozen congressmen, is a step for the securities laws to be modified to include cryptos.
The document was sent a few days after a meeting between representatives of the cryptocurrency ecosystem, congressmen and traditional market investors. Congressmen highlighted the lack of clarity regarding the SEC decisional process regarding whether a crypto token is a security or not.
Additionally, in the letter, they asked the SEC to clarify whether a token could be analyzed separately from the purchase contract, which in turn could become an offer of value. If so, they question whether the resulting token would be treated as a value.
The SEC keeps alive the dilemma surrounding the crypto tokens issued via ICOs
The SEC has cataloged Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) as commodities, so their regulation is not related to the SEC, but to the CFTC. In the case of other cryptos, such as tokens, the SEC has indicated so far that it will use the Howey test to determine whether they are values or not. But this instrument does not cover the variety of characteristics crypto tokens sum up.
The US Congress also questioned the SEC chief if he agrees with the past statements of the director of corporate finance, William Hinman, who pointed out that the cryptos coming from Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) should be regulated as securities, a measure that until now is not contemplated by the cryptocurrency regulations.
Also, on September 25th, a meeting was held in Washington DC between Wall Street investors, US congressmen and representatives of the cryptocurrency ecosystem, in which they discussed aspects to prepare a draft law for more explicit cryptocurrency regulations. On that occasion, cryptocurrency companies stressed that, without a clear regulatory framework, the US would lose its advantage in this industry.
