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The views of Gary Gensler, the head of the U. S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), have attracted criticism for categorizing a range of crypto assets as securities. Coinbase Chief Legal Officer (CLO) Paul Grewal raised issues on the views pronounced by Gensler, more particularly those aired on CNBC’s “Squawk Box. ” 
Gensler stated that most of the tokens, Ethereum among them, are considered securities because of the interpretations from the U. S. Supreme Court. Grewal challenged this stand, arguing that SEC lawyers had previously acknowledged in court that such tokens are not classified as securities. Grewal stated that Gensler’s position has inhibited Ethereum’s prospect of ETF approval.&nbsp; 
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 “Many of those tokens are securities under the law of the land, as interpreted by the US Supreme Court. So we follow that law.” Please stop misleading the market—tokens are NOT securities. Their pleadings notwithstanding , your own attorneys have admitted this in court. <a href="https://t.co/Ti4Xtpe67s" target="_blank">https://t.co/Ti4Xtpe67s</a>— paulgrewal.eth (@iampaulgrewal) <a href="https://twitter.com/iampaulgrewal/status/1787852258572661214?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">May 7, 2024</a>
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Ethereum’s Classification Sparks Ongoing Debate 
The SEC’s case has also been backed by MicroStrategy founder Michael Saylor, who has characterized Ethereum and other altcoins like Solana, Cardano, and XRP as unregistered security. <a href="https://www.cryptotimes.io/2024/05/04/charles-hoskinson-defends-cardano-against-michael-saylors-critique/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Saylor</a> argued that, unlike Bitcoin, these tokens would never gain Wall Street acceptance. 
This viewpoint drew criticism from pro-XRP attorney Bill Morgan, who compared Saylor’s stance to the SEC’s. Morgan <a href="https://x.com/Belisarius2020/status/1785427174075633862" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">highlighted</a> a prior court ruling where Judge Analisa Torres determined that XRP was not a security. Given his misunderstanding of the legal status of other digital assets, he questioned the credibility of Saylor’s predictions on the future of Bitcoin.&nbsp; 
Congressman Thomas Emmer also criticized the SEC for its approach to categorizing Ethereum, arguing that the timeline for when the Commission deemed ETH security remains unclear. 
The tension between crypto leaders and regulatory bodies reflects a growing need for clear definitions and guidelines. The conversation around crypto regulation remains contentious, with major stakeholders publicly voicing their concerns. 
<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow"> 
 Read Also: <a href="https://www.cryptotimes.io/2024/05/07/gensler-concerned-over-crypto-disclosures-amid-sec-actions/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Gensler Concerned Over Crypto Disclosures Amid SEC Actions</a> 
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Coinbase CLO Criticizes SEC Chair’s Statement on Altcoins

The Crypto Times

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