The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has yet to clear regulation of the crypto industry, but many believe the agency won’t stop. Accordingly, Fox Business corporate journalist Charles Gasparino believes the SEC will target Ethereum next if the Ripple case is resolved in favor of the regulator.
The SEC targets the next Ethereum if Ripple loses the XRP lawsuit
In a recent discussion, he agreed with XRP defense attorney John Deaton who suggested that the SEC would target Ethereum next if the Ripple case is resolved in favor of the regulator.
And here are a few reason. First, the current and past leadership of the Apex regulator appears to have good alignment with the security status of Ripple’s XRP. This follows a recent discussion by current SEC Chairman Gary Gensler and his predecessor Jay Clayton at the Digital Asset Compliance and Market Integrity Summit in New York. They seem to offer tips on how the industry should be managed.
Second, in his opinion, Bitcoin is not a security, but Ripple / XRP. The place where their views diverged was Ethereum. Gasparino suggested that Gensler wait for the Ripple case to be resolved before revealing his stance on Ethereum.
“I think he’s waiting for the Ripple case to see if it’s back to Ethereum, to be honest. That’s how it got crazy, ”said Gasparino.
Ethereum has long been on the radar since Ripple was sued by the SEC. And many continue to wonder why Ether should get a free token from the SEC while Ripple goes to court. Much of the controversy stems from William Hinman, the SEC’s former director of corporate finance, who stated in his famous speech that ETH is no longer a security.
During a legal battle, the SEC avoided arguing about it. They argued that this was only Hinman’s own opinion, and not that of the SEC. This is one of the reasons why key players, including attorney John Deaton, have stated that the question of whether ether is really not considered a security by the SEC has yet to be answered.
Others argued that if the SEC saw XRP as a security, it would offer the same treatment for ETH as well. The main reason is that the committee failed to make an important distinction between the performance of Ether and that of XRP in terms of the application of federal securities laws.
This lack of clarity makes ether a potential SEC target. And things will happen as soon as it gets closer to its plan of becoming an evidence of stake network.
