Cryptophobes think that no part of your life should be free from government inspection.Cryptophobes say that the existence of evil-doers, terrorists, and criminals means that you must give the government access to all of your private digital communications.Cryptophobes think that giant bureaucratic organizations can be trusted not to misuse or reveal your secrets.Cryptophobes claim that it's "balanced" or "just common sense" that governments should be able to listen to all your private conversations.
This week, on the same day, two United States regulating bodies — the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and its ruling organization the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) — reported filing objections against non-compliant crypto players who made some false statements regarding their businesses. .
Here’s brief background: In April 2016, Ayre started advertising HMP as “the first minable coin backed by marketable securities” and a security backed by common stock, arguing that every 10 coins represented one share of his public company Rocky Mountain Ayre Inc. (RMTN).Ayre’s HempCoins premiered on exchanges C-Cex and Yobit. More than than 81 million HMP coins were mined in late 2017 and traded on the aforementioned platforms. Currently, HMP is not listed at any exchange and its market cap totals a modest $104,463, according to CoinMarketCap. Ayre’s cryptocurrency has also seemingly erased all of its social media presence, while its former websitereroutes to some unrelated content.
SEC starts to battle unruly crypto hedge funds
FINRA’s action came on the same day as its overseer, the SEC, issued two separate cease-and-desist orders along with fines.First, the SEC filed a cease-and-desist against Crypto Asset Management (CAM) fund and its founder Timothy Enneking, who reportedly presented CAM as the "first regulated crypto asset fund in the United States.” CAM raised $3.6 million from 44 investors in late 2017, bringing its net asset value to $37 million.According to the filing, the fund has, in fact, "never been registered with the Commission in any capacity." Тhe watchdog stresses that CAM “wilfully” broke the law by claiming to have the necessary credentials associated with holding and trading securities.
NY court rules securities laws can apply to crypto
The regulatory scrutiny for virtual currencies in the U.S. is likely to become even more thorough, as Sept. 11 featured yet another precedent: A New York judge ruled that securities laws can be applicable for prosecuting crypto fraud allegations, in what appeared to be the first U.S. court case to address the matter. As a result, U.S. District Judge Raymond Dearie ruled that federal securities laws should be interpreted “flexibly,” dismissing a motion from Zaslavskiy’s lawyers to drop the charges on the grounds that the cryptocurrencies didn’t fall under the Securities Exchange Act.
Still no regulatory framework
Thus, U.S. regulators have been increasingly focused on the crypto market as of late. Importantly, this week’s news might mark an extension of the watchdogs’ action on the field of cryptocurrencies, as both the FINRA’s and SEC’s action this week were apparent firsts, while the N.Y. court decision also seems to have set a new precedent. he events mentioned above follow U.S. Rep. Bill Huizenga’s July speech, when the lawmaker argued that Congress should empower financial regulators such as the SEC to regulate the cryptocurrency market in compliance with the same rules governing other currencies and stocks.Nevertheless, for now, U.S. regulatory bodies still haven’t come up with one definitive scheme to regulate the crypto industry, as watchdogs continue to approach them differently, depending on their competence. In May, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) chairman, Chris Giancarlo, stated he doesn’t see comprehensive crypto legislation coming from the federal level in the near future, pointing out that the statutes by which the CFTC is operating were written in 1935.