XRP holders' lawyer John Deaton is concerned SEC chair is gaslighting public and ignoring core provisions of law as pertains to crypto
With current crypto regulation sentiment in the United States taking different momentum, XRP holders' lawyer John Deaton has once again called out Gary Gensler, the chairman of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), for what he perceives as an obvious attempt to shy away from the law.
Deaton referenced a recent video interview featuring Gensler talking about how securities laws apply to most of the tokens in the industry. The crypto lawyer categorically stated that the said securities laws do not apply to these tokens, as determined by the Howey test and exemplified in the latest Ripple ruling.
Deaton said that, in reality, securities laws may apply to the "offer and sell of tokens, including #BItcoin (like they did in SEC v. Shavers in 2013)." To buttress his point, the vocal legal expert noted that there is no distinction in the type of asset, so long as the offering presented conforms with the prongs of the Howey test.
@GaryGensler has no clue what he’s talking about or he is intentionally gas ⛽️ lighting the public. Securities laws to not apply to these tokens. Securities laws may apply to the offer and sell of tokens, including #BItcoin (like they did in SEC v. Shavers in 2013), as well as… https://t.co/9Qav272jVl— John E Deaton (@JohnEDeaton1) July 27, 2023
He stated categorically that Gary Gensler might be gaslighting the public with his stance with a prompt call that it is time for the top securities cop to "stop ignoring the law."
Do securities laws apply to crypto?
This is arguably one of the most volatile points of discussion in the digital currency ecosystem, with executives of the SEC and crypto leaders holding profoundly divergent interpretations of the security status of these nascent asset classes.
These differences are currently the basis for the lawsuits levied against the top players in the industry, from Kraken earlier in the year to Coinbase and Binance exchanges. Even though Judge Analisa Torres has helped clarify, in a recent ruling, that XRP in itself is not a security, the SEC seems unsatisfied, with the threat of appeal currently being mulled over.
As it stands, the answer to the status of crypto may be decided at the Supreme Court level.