The SEC is in the news again as Ripple’s chief legal officer, Stuart Alderoty, took to social media to criticize the agency’s inconsistent approach to cryptocurrency regulation. It is not the first time the agency has been criticized in the crypto space.
But Alderoty’s remarks seem to show that many in the industry are frustrated because they still do not have clear regulatory guidance, even after numerous enforcement actions.
In response to the SEC’s latest investor alert, which reissued warnings about a variety of cryptocurrency scams, Alderoty highlighted the contradictions in the agency’s regulatory framework, particularly as it pertains to emerging fraud schemes like “pig butchering.”
He pointed out that the regulator has been inconsistent in its use of the term “crypto asset security,” as it no longer uses this term in its most recent investor alert.
So the SEC finally admits that 1/ “crypto asset security” is a made up term and 2/ to prove a “crypto asset security” is an investment contract, the SEC needs evidence of a bundle of “contracts, expectations, and understandings”?
Think it’s time for @SECgov to admit it has… https://t.co/iJIYTnNvxs pic.twitter.com/E58Pft7irc
— Stuart Alderoty (@s_alderoty) September 13, 2024
The SEC’s warnings, while serious, come at a time when the agency’s regulatory stances are also under fire for creating confusion rather than clarity.
What makes Alderoty’s response stand out is not just what he said, but also the visuals he shared. He transformed the regulator’s logo into a pretzel, which symbolizes his view of the agency’s increasingly complex regulatory posture.
His critique comes right after the SEC settled with trading platform eToro. In that case, Ethereum was recognized as a nonsecurity, which just added fuel to the fire of the ongoing debates about the inconsistent classification of crypto assets on behalf of the agency.
