US based software developer microstrategy CEO Michael Saylor has once again questioned the regulatory status of ethereum (ETH), arguing that it can best be classified as digital security. On the other hand, he insisted that there is no doubt that bitcoin (BTC) is a digital property and therefore not subject to regulatory headaches.
Saylor, who appeared in a recent episode of the UpOnly podcast, said that the most important thing for a long-term crypto investor to understand is the political status of a crypto asset, i.e. whether it is a cryptocurrency, a crypto property, or a crypto security.
“As far as I can see, Bitcoin is crypto property, and by property, it means that it is seen as fair and common property beyond the control of one company or group of people,” Saylor said, adding that it is quite challenging for create a property.
Bitcoin was created by the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto, who published the original Bitcoin white paper in 2008. The coins are created through mining, which means there was never a pre-mine or initial coin offering (ICO). Bitcoin uses the proof-of-work (PoW) mechanism, which Saylor says is “fair distribution.”
Pointing this out, Saylor claimed that bitcoin can easily be classified as digital property, saying:
“It is quite clear that, of everything in the crypto universe, what is most likely to be considered property in any given nation-state is Bitcoin.”
However, it classified every coin that allows gambling or uses the proof-of-stake (PoS) mechanism as digital security.
“The regulators have explicitly stated that if there is a stake and it makes a return, it is an investment contract and an investment contract is a security,” Saylor added.
Recently, there has been some discussion that Ethereum is actually a security. This is because Ethereum was also originally funded through an ICO, which took place in 2014. At that time, users had the opportunity to exchange their BTC for ETH tokens, and more than 7 million ETH tokens were sold in the first 12 hours.
According to Saylor, the problem with securities is that they are in a regulatory gray area. “For you to invest in [securites]You have to be willing to accept securities risk, legal risk, competitive risk and literal cybersecurity risk,” he said.
This partly explains why Saylor, a bitcoin maximalist, has stayed away from ethereum despite all the recent growth around decentralized finance (DeFi) or non-fungible tokens (NFTs) that are mostly based on Ethereum.
In particular, Saylor’s micro-strategy has continued his BTC buying spree despite all the volatility and declines. As of the end of 2021, the firm held approximately 124,391 BTC, purchased at a total purchase price of $3.75 billion and an average purchase price of $30,159 per bitcoin, including fees and expenses, according to documents shared with the firm. US Securities Commission (SECOND).
As of 10:07 UTC, BTC is trading at $36,607. It is down 3% in a day and 12% in a week. ETH is changing hands at $2,444, having dropped 2% in a day and 21% in a week.
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