Well: Either it is crypto, in which case policymakers are going to dislike it because of how crypto is linked to these aspects that policymakers dislike. Or, if they called it crypto when it's not really crypto then that play clearly backfired because instead of lessening the regulatory scrutiny it's actually increasing it.
Either way, I think my point is valid: Cryptocurrency is in this state of limbo where it's something that policymakers dislike but they haven't yet gotten around to making the laws that say so. I can't see into the future, but I am hereby going on the record by saying that this is something I am expecting will happen. And facebook entering the scene serves as a catalyst to accelerate the lawmaking. Them kind of saying "hold on a sec..." is what I see as this process kicking off right now. Will be interesting to see whether it holds true or not.
> ... haven’t gotten around to making the laws that says so.
Huh?
The SEC is very clear that most crypto currency is a security. The laws are on the books. That deranged Reddit people imagine the laws don’t apply to them in no way changes that.
Similarly, Facebook appears to be proposing that they become a bank, then putting some lipstick on to suggest they’re not a bank. The laws are on the books about how banks are regulated.
The argument here is “does claiming you’re not the thing you obviously are work as a tactic to avoid regulation”. Clearly AirBNB and Uber got away with it, so Facebook is hoping they can, too.
The question of whether or not a bitcoin or whatever is a security is only the tip of the iceberg of regulatory questions that someone might ask about cryptocurrency. How does anti-money-laundering regulation apply to it? Does a cryptowallet need to come under FDIC insurance? How does the Volcker Rule apply to someone who takes deposits and also engages in trading around a cryptocurrency? etc etc etc Large parts of the law are written on the basis of the assumption that currency is actually a dollar bill printed on paper, or a number in a bank computer with a very narrow sense of what is and what isn't a bank. Those definitions are being blasted wide open, and asking the law a bunch of questions about cryptocurrency often resolves to "it does not compute..."
