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Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson has criticized the SEC for giving Bitcoin and Ethereum a free pass while other crypto assets like ADA suffer from being labeled securities.
During a recent live broadcast, Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson reacted to the U.S. SEC’s claims that ADA, the blockchain’s native coin, is a security.
Charles Hoskinson GOES OFF on SEC & Bitcoin getting a pass while Cardano $ADA & crypto has to suffer. 👇 pic.twitter.com/Vm1u9jGrIr
— Altcoin Daily (@AltcoinDailyio) November 27, 2023
SEC Labels ADA as Security
For context, the Securities and Exchange Commission labeled ADA a security in its lawsuit against U.S.-based crypto exchange Kraken. The development marks the third time the SEC has mentioned ADA among the crypto assets deemed as a security.
Aside from its case against Kraken, the SEC also listed ADA as a security in the lawsuit against Binance and Coinbase.
Although the SEC has not signaled any intention to sue the team behind ADA, there are speculations that the securities regulators could consider taking the Cardano team to court.
Hoskinson Criticizes SEC For Giving Ethereum and Bitcoin Free Pass
Hoskinson, who had previously reacted to the SEC’s claims, recently slammed the rationale behind classifying cryptos as securities.
The Cardano boss faulted the SEC’s decision to declare Bitcoin and Ethereum as non-securities while giving the securities tag to other crypto assets like ADA.
Recall that in June 2018, former SEC director Bill Hinman declared that Bitcoin and Ethereum are sufficiently decentralized. Hence, Hinman labeled them as non-securities.
Reacting, Hoskinson urged the SEC to explain the difference between BTC, ETH, and ADA.
“What does that mean if it’s decentralized? Explain the f*cking difference between Bitcoin, Ethereum, Cardano, and the rest of the gang. Explain it to me like I’m five years old. Run the goddamn Howey Test and show me the difference between them,” Hoskinson was quoted as saying.
The Cardano boss described the SEC’s non-securities classification of BTC and ETH as a pathetic joke. He added that hundreds of millions of dollars have been spent on legal battles brought by the SEC against crypto projects.
A case in point is Ripple spending over $150 million defending its case against the SEC.
Prior to Hoskinson’s recent outburst, the Cardano boss never saw anything wrong with Ethereum team members using their relationship with the SEC to give ETH a favorable regulatory environment over other tokens.
Per Hoskinson, big conglomerates in the traditional finance space have been using their relationships to gain an advantage over their competitors. Hence, there is nothing new about such practice, he remarked.
XRP Army Reacts
However, with the SEC labeling ADA as a security on three occasions, Hoskinson is now feeling the same frustration that XRP enthusiasts have expressed in the past.
This is the view of Digital Perspective, one of the XRP enthusiasts who reacted to Hoskinson’s recent outburst.
It`s unfortunate,but I think this guy is finally feeling the frustration that every single #XRPHolder was feeling during the #SECvsRipple case,which is still ongoing. The #FreePasses in #crypto have been and continue to be a an unlevel playing field. The only way to level the… https://t.co/gCAGBxnN6U
— Digital PerspectivesPermaBull🪝 (@DigPerspectives) November 28, 2023
Interestingly, another XRP enthusiast, Mark Phillips, used Hoskinson’s “grand conspiracy” comment to troll the Cardano boss, saying:
“At least we can be reassured it wasn’t a ‘grand conspiracy’ to buy a free pass for BTC and ETH.”
It is worth mentioning that the Cardano boss had described allegations surrounding Ethereum’s relationship with the SEC as a “grand conspiracy.”
Furthermore, Attorney John Deaton, who represents thousands of XRP holders in the SEC v. Ripple lawsuit, also reacted to Hoskinson’s recent outburst.
Unlike most XRP enthusiasts, Attorney Deaton said he understands Hoskinson’s frustration with the SEC. He called on the SEC to establish laws that can be applied across all ecosystems within the crypto industry.
Only Maxis will take issue with @IOHK_Charles’s outrage. I don’t see how anyone could not objectively understand the frustration. U.S securities laws need to be coherent and consistently applied across all ecosystems. https://t.co/igcPycRdxb
— John E Deaton (@JohnEDeaton1) November 27, 2023