Most crypto enthusiasts are less than pleased with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission’s past approach to crypto. This is not because legitimate businesses oppose regulation but because of the breadth, complexity and uncertainty associated with the current regulatory regime. Even in the context of general discontent, few actions by the SEC have engendered as much widespread criticism as the Dec. 22, 2020 complaint that initiated a civil enforcement action against Ripple Labs and two of its executives.
Not everyone opposed the action. For example, Coin Center, a pro-crypto nonprofit advocacy and research group, declined to argue against the idea that XRP is a security. In my previous Expert Take, I suggested that the case was consistent with prior SEC enforcement initiatives and the Howey investment-contract test, simply known as the Howey test, which has long been used by the SEC to determine when crypto assets are securities.
The utility token approach
Excluding crypto assets that are regulated as virtual currency
A statute of limitations
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