As Bitcoin (BTC) fell further on Monday, finding itself under $5,000 in a first for 2018, industry savants quickly took to crypto’s side, in spite of the growing bearish sentiment. Surprisingly, a crypto-friendly partner at Washington, D.C.-based Anderson Kill, a centralized law organization, rushed to Bitcoin’s aid faster than many could utter “HODL.”
SEC’s ICO Verdict Isn’t Bearish, Far From In Fact
The Anderson Kill partner in question is Stephen Palley, who recently appeared on Bloomberg TV interview to lend his insight and tout his advocacy for cryptocurrencies. The Bloomberg host, touching on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s recent crackdown on Airfox and Paragon, asked Palley, a lawyer by trade, about the overarching “message” that the regulator was sending via its heavy-handed verdict.
Related Reading: SEC Orders Airfox and Paragon to Return Millions to Investors on ICO Registration Violations
Surprisingly, contradicting popular sentiment, Palley noted that the SEC “isn’t in business” of sending foreboding messages, especially when is enforcing laws and/or sending cease and desist orders. Instead, as made apparent by the SEC’s infamous DAO report and “Munchee” filing, the lawyer noted that the governmental agency is openly acknowledging that blockchain technologies are “nifty,” while seeking to make moves in its jurisdiction.
And, as discussed by the Anderson Kill partner, this logic carries over to Airfox and Paragon, two ICO-funded crypto startups mandated to pay $250,000 in fines and refund investors affected by its illegal sale of securities. He elaborated:
“What the SEC said [in the verdict] was common sense. Just because its newfangled technology doesn’t mean that these very established securities laws don’t apply… in a statement, the SEC, concurrent with the two verdicts, explained that the technology is ‘cool’ and they’re in favor of innovation, but don’t forget to obey the law.”
Contradicting reports and rumors, Palley, wrapping up his comments on the matter, explained that latest crypto drawdown, which cut $40 billion off the aggregate cryptocurrency market capitalization, isn’t correlated with the SEC’s move against ICOs.
Likely referencing ICORating’s recent report regarding the relative collapse of token sales, the host queried the lawyer about the disappearance of this formerly-booming cryptocurrency subset.
Responding as a lawyer would, Palley noted that startup’s looking to raise capital, while skirting securities laws via token sales, are essentially writing dead letters. But, the Anderson Kill lawyer noted that the ICO model is far from dead in the water, or at least outside of the U.S. that is.
“I Would Not Write Off Bitcoin Or Ethereum”
Carrying this logic over to native cryptocurrencies, digital assets that aren’t created on the back of sales, Palley pointed out that he would be remiss to write off Bitcoin or Ethereum, adding that the technology itself is revolutionary.
Even cutting out some time to talk prices, the cryptocurrency proponent noted that while the wallets of late-2017 entrants are likely hurting, from a long-term investment standpoint, BTC isn’t something to be cast to the wayside.
Interestingly, this sentiment lines up with the results of a recent poll conducted by Ron Paul, a now-retired U.S. politician that has a penchant for pushing the envelope. The poll, which asked a simple, but thought-provoking question — If a wealthy person gifts you $10,000 for a 10-year investment, would you allocate the gift into Federal Reserve Notes, Gold, BTC, or US 10-yr Treasury Bonds? — quickly garnered thousands of votes.
To the chagrin of traditionalists, 50% of respondents indicated that they would allocate their gift into BTC, while only 11% and 2% would throw the $10,000 at U.S. 10-year bonds and Federal Reserve notes respectively.
Paul’s tweet undoubtedly underscores the sentiment that crypto is here to stay, despite the short-term price nuances.
Featured Image from Shutterstock