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Bill Morgan, a legal expert and XRP enthusiast, has once again criticized the SEC's approach to digital asset regulation. In a tweet, Morgan highlights the years of uncertainty created by the SEC as it failed to provide regulatory clarity on crypto assets, including DASH and XRP.
As brought to light by Bittrex's recent filing, the SEC publicly expressed its view that DASH might be considered a security for the first time nearly a decade after its launch.
It’s no way to achieve clarity. 9 years of uncertainty then suddenly Dash is alleged by the SEC to be a security. And this after there was no indication that PoW tokens which are mined were securities.Ripple sued after 8 years selling XRP. What a shit show the US is dishing up. https://t.co/qp9fB8fdhB
— bill morgan (@Belisarius2020) July 3, 2023
Morgan noted the fact that Ripple was sued eight years after selling XRP. He criticizes the SEC's approach, saying regulatory clarity could in no way be achieved by this means.
Over the weekend, Bittrex and its co-founder, William Shihara, filed motions to dismiss the SEC's complaint.
In April of this year, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sued Bittrex and its co-founder and former CEO William Shihara for operating an unregistered securities exchange, broker and clearing agency. It alleges that since at least 2014, Bittrex has held itself out as a platform that facilitates the buying and trading of crypto assets that were allegedly offered and sold as securities.
A part of Bittrex's motion to dismiss the SEC's complaint reads: "DASH, OMG, and ALGO were launched in 2014, 2017, and 2019, respectively. None were registered as securities by their founders or promoters, and in the years following their launch, the SEC did not publicly express the view that any of these were securities. The first time the SEC publicly expressed this view was nearly a decade after DASH launched when it filed this lawsuit against Bittrex Global."
Morgan reacted to this, citing a scenario where a holder who bought Dash in 2014 finds out for the first time in 2023 that the SEC alleges the Dash token is a security from a complaint "filed against a foreign company operating a foreign exchange where Dash is sold to foreign customers."
He continued in another tweet, "9 years of uncertainty, then suddenly Dash is alleged by the SEC to be a security. And this after there was no indication that PoW tokens, which are mined, were securities."
The SEC's backdoor approach to regulation is widely criticized as it evades regulatory clarity, which many believe is required to foster an environment conducive to responsible innovation.