The crypto business has suffered greatly during the current bear market. Asset prices have dropped dramatically as a result of several company failures.
However, regulators—particularly those in the US—continue to file lawsuits, serve Wells Notices, and make remarks that appear to be confusing to the sector. The most recent instance is Gary Gensler, who, although previously praising Algorand’s coin ALGO, now refers to it as a security.
On Monday, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced the filing of a new crypto-related case. The regulatory body accused Bittrex, a cryptocurrency exchange, of breaking federal securities regulations.
The exchange, according to the SEC, did not register as a broker, exchange, or clearing agency. Charges have been brought against Bittrex Global and the former CEO Bill Shihara. A further lawsuit has been filed against Bittrex Global and the former CEO Bill Shihara.
The Bittrex case did not, however, garner much media attention. The SEC claimed that Algorand (ALGO), OMG Network (OMG), Dash (DASH), Tokencard (TKN), and I-House Token (IHT) were unregistered securities in the case.
This claim is particularly intriguing given that SEC Chair Gary Gensler has previously lauded Algorand and its creator Silvio Micali, an MIT professor and the creator of zero-knowledge proofs who received the Turing Award.
William Hinman, the former director of corporate finance at the SEC, and Silvio Micali are rumored to be friends on a personal level, which has sparked rumors regarding the SEC’s recent activities.
Gensler is shown on a stage discussing blockchain technology and how it may transform applications like Uber and Lyft in a video that went popular on social media in the wake of the Bittrex lawsuit. He continues by making mention of Algorand and Micali and claims that Algorand is “a terrific technology that you can develop Uber on top of.”
Gensler’s true feelings for Algorand are unknown, and it’s also unclear why he’s just now referring to ALGO as security.
Members of the cryptocurrency community have come forward with claims of hypocrisy in response to the incident, with some pointing to the SEC’s actions targeting Algorand and Bittrex as being inconsistent.
