Celsius CEO not worried about Bitcoin, Ethereum being deemed securities
Despite regulatory uncertainty, it is no news that crypto interest has grown manifold this year. In a recent interview with Coin Stories, Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky discussed Bitcoin and the regulatory attitude towards the sector. Mashinsky, who is a self-proclaimed Bitcoin maximalist, stated,
“We just crossed $3 trillion worth of market capitalization for cryptocurrencies, half of that is maintained by Bitcoin. So obviously Bitcoin is doing something right.”
However, in the context of the alt-verse, he noted that the sector needs to win all other use cases. And, “Bitcoin may not do so well,” when it comes to other use cases apart from yield and form of payment. Therefore, he believes,
“[No] conflict in being both Bitcoin maximalist and still cheering for a few other projects. Not for 12,000. I agree that most of these projects are going to fail.”
While Mashinsky is cheering for more than one crypto project, Berkshire Hathaway Inc.’s Charlie Munger took a contradictory position in a recent conference. He said,
“I wish they’d [cryptos] never been invented.”
Tug of War
Looks like crypto has to deal with both proponents and opponents through its adoption years. However, when it comes to adoption, Mashinsky opined that most people don’t know how to deal with very volatile assets like Bitcoin, adding,
“And they can’t find the right entry point…”
Recently, Bitcoin holders sold over 10,000 BTC tokens worth $575 million in just one day. The massive volatility was led by FUD in the sector and concerns around the Omnicron variant. With that, now SEC chair Gary Gensler has also somewhat hinted at more upcoming clampdown in the sector in a recent note.
He said, “many tokens may be unregistered securities, without required disclosures or market oversight.” Apart from that, he cautioned the industry that,
“If a lending platform is offering securities, it also falls into SEC jurisdiction.”
Having said that, Mashinsky was quick to assure the investors that the regulators have already stated that Bitcoin and Ethereum are sufficiently decentralized. Which, in turn, also keeps them far from the possible discussion of being “securities.” However, he added,
“So there is still a question mark about other assets. But definitely for Bitcoin and Ethereum, I think we’re all safe.”
Adding that even stablecoins are quite safe for people wanting to be cautious in the sector. Stating that regulators are here to protect investors and not confiscate their assets.
Meanwhile, November hasn’t been the ideal month for Bitcoin holders owing to the huge corrections it experienced. However, analysts are still have hopeful year-end price predictions.
