February 9, 2022
-I apologize in advance for the less-than-PR wording, as this is not a generic copy-paste comment. I've been using crypto for about 10 years now, I've seen most of its history unfold thus far, and stunts like this show how adversarial the SEC is to crypto. This proposed rule for \"treasury securities\" is actually sweeping regulation for crypto according to Hester Pierce. It expands the defenition of \"securities exchange\" to encompass AMM's, as well as many other defi protocols. Even sites like etherscan could be called exchanges. What this does is force everyone through an impossible registration reporting regime, which causes a de facto ban. It's impossible to comply. It even overrides previous no-action letters. What that does is it forces companies to shift gears quickly- and expensively- based on back and forth signals from regulators.
That's the kind of action that pushes new startups to other countries. So these quick, sweeping regulations have a detrimental effect on our economy. We have recently seen very quick attempts from both the SEC and the Treasury Department to expand their power over crypto. Steve Minuchin's attempt, then the infrastructure bill rider, now this proposed rule with only a 30-day comment period. As a long-time crypto user, it's concerning to be in this position at all. We should be leaving comments on how to make good regulation better, not warnings about a full-industry ban in disguise. I personally agree with Chair Gensler's position as an MIT professor, that most crypto coins are not securities and that blockchain tech will be around long-term. I disagree with his new stance, that the tech will die off, followed by thinly veiled attempts to use his power to kill it. Self-fulfilling prophecies only work if you're the strongest player on the field, and that player is the decentralized system as a whole. the internet, blockchain, web 3, business growth, wealth creation, the upside to crypto is inevitable, and I, as well as many other users, hope that Chair Gensler and others will be able to see that and get on the right side of history. With the business growth that blockchain and web3 can power, there's more than enough opportunity in it for everyone.