Cryptocurrency
SEC Leaves Ether Off Securities Column In eToro Case
Trading app eToro recently reached a settlement with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
The SEC announced Thursday that eToro “agreed to pay $1.5 million to settle charges that it operated an unregistered broker and unregistered clearing agency in connection with its trading platform that facilitated buying and selling certain crypto assets as securities.”
But eToro also agreed to halt trading for any cryptos except for Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, and Ether.
“By removing tokens offered as investment contracts from its platform, eToro has chosen to come into compliance and operate within our established regulatory framework,” said Gurbir S. Grewal, Director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement.
The settlement may provide more insight into the SEC’s thinking about cryptocurrencies. It reinforces a view of Ether as a commodity rather than a security, a key question about cryptos in the US policy regulation of cryptocurrencies.
The SEC which regulates much of the trading on Wall Street, has taken different views on different cryptos. The Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) also says cryptos can be securities or commodities.
So what is Ether then, if not a security?
The ‘ETH is Property’ Argument
According to the US tax code under rules at the Internet Revenue Service, Ether and most cryptographically secure digital tokens are simply property and taxed that way.
As a crypto, Ether can be classified as property under the IRS tax code. That’s also Coinbase’s argument about cryptocurrencies in its case with the SEC, that cryptos are property, like baseball cards.
The ‘ETH is Capital, Sort of’ Argument
Another view of Ether that is not inconsistent with that of it as a commodity or property is that it is free speech in the form of software, but software that does something very novel in Internet history.
Ether is a self-executing, programmable contract on Ethereum, an open and autonomous peer-to-peer network.
But it’s not exactly like a legal contract, although the Ethereum platform can be used to host legally-enforceable smart contracts. That could be one of its prime use cases.
Instead, Ether is a machine made out of numbers and words that your home or company office can use to accomplish work. Although it is digital, it is akin to a fax machine, telephone, or rolodex. Ethereum is capital that can increase its users’ productive possibilities.
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XRP seems to have found support around 50 cents. Can buyers push the price higher this week?
Key Support levels: $0.50
Key Resistance levels: $0.54, $0.68
1. Price Finds Support
After a sharp fall last week, bulls appear to be back. XRP opened this Monday in green and is keen to return on an uptrend. As long as the key support at 50 cents holds, buyers have a good chance to return on the offensive.
2. Sellers are Retreating
Early October saw a spike in sell volume, but now sentiment across the market is improving, which could see the momentum shift back into the bulls’ favor. If so, buyers can aim to take XRP back above 60 cents. However, once there, sellers could return, as in late September.
3. MACD Momentum Shifting
After a difficult start this month, the momentum on the daily MACD is showing the first signs of a reversal, with a histogram making higher lows. If this trend continues, buyers could soon take over the price action and push XRP to break higher again.
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The price of Bitget’s BGB token unexpectedly dropped by 50% on the morning of October 7 before beginning to recover.
The platform has announced that it will compensate users for any losses resulting from the sudden volatility, which is still under investigation.
Exchange Promises Full Compensation
According to CoinGecko data, the incident saw the token’s value fall from $1.14 to $0.64 before staging a quick recovery. In a post on X, Bitget addressed the situation, saying, “BGB experienced unexpected volatility today due to market conditions, but the price has quickly stabilized.”
The platform reassured its users, promising to fully compensate for any asset losses. It also announced that a detailed compensation plan would be released within 24 hours, with the entire process set to be completed within 72 hours.
Bitget CEO Gracy Chen reiterated this message in a separate X post:
“The incident is still under investigation, but I want to assure everyone affected that we will not let any Bitget users suffer losses.”
Chen emphasized that Bitget’s overall standing remains strong, noting that the platform achieved a global market share of 11% in the third quarter of 2024, making it the fourth-largest exchange globally. Additionally, it boasts an asset reserve exceeding 176% and holds the second-largest protection fund globally, which is designed to compensate users quickly in the event of such incidents.
The Nature of Flash Crashes
Meanwhile, this incident mirrors a past development that occurred earlier this year with OKB, the native cryptocurrency of the OKX exchange. The token faced sudden price collapses, falling from a high of $48 to $25 within hours. The event was reportedly triggered by several large leveraged position liquidations, leading to further sell-offs and price declines.
At the time, OKX responded by reassuring its users that it would compensate them for the losses incurred from the unusual liquidation. While OKB’s crashes were linked to market-wide volatility, Bitget has yet to pinpoint the exact cause behind today’s event.
A cryptocurrency “flash crash” occurs when several holders rapidly sell a specific crypto asset, surpassing buyer demand and causing the price to drop sharply in a short amount of time. Unlike a typical collapse, the price usually recovers quickly, often returning to a level close to where it started.
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[PRESS RELEASE – Dubai, UAE, October 7th, 2024]
On October 22-23, the Blockchain Life 2024 forum will take place in Dubai. Over 10,000 participants from 120 countries will come together for the crypto event to share industry insights on the eve of Bull Run 2025.
Participants will hear from leading voices in the blockchain space, who will share market analysis on market trends and potential future developments.
Confirmed figures include:
- CEO Tether – Paolo Ardoino
- Co-Founder Animoca Brands – Yat Siu
- CEO Ledger – Pascal Gauthier
- CEO Cardano Foundation – Frederik Gregaard
- CEO Dubai Blockchain Center – Dr. Marwan Alzarouni
- Co-Founder Litecoin Foundation – Xinxi Wang
- CEO Vechain – Sunny Lu
- CEO of dYdX Foundation – Charles d’Haussy
- Founder Listing.Help, Jets Capital – Sergei Khitrov
- Founder DWF Labs – Andrei Grachev
- Co-Founder Tezos – Arthur Breitman
- CEO Trust Wallet – Eowyn Chen
- Co-Founder Osmosis Labs – Sunny Aggarwal
- Co-Founder of Sui (Mysten Labs) – Kostas Chalkias
- Head of Investments at Maelstrom Fund – Akshat Vaidya
- Founder Notcoin – Sasha Plotvinov
- Co-Founder, CEO Celestia Labs – Mustafa Al-Bassam
- Google Cloud – Tiago Henriques
- Program Lead MetaMask – Zied Brini
In addition to the lineup of speakers, Blockchain Life 2024 is also set to include behind-the-scenes discussions that will provide an opportunity for networking and exchanging information on the latest advancements in the sector.
The forum is coming soon. Readers can purchase tickets with a 10% discount using promo code chainwire.
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