Shark Tank star and the owner of the NBA team Dallas Mavericks, Mark Cuban, has warned that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will come up with rules for token registration that will be “the nightmare that’s waiting for the crypto industry.”
Mark Cuban Foresees SEC Coming Up With ‘Nightmare’ Crypto Regulation
Mark Cuban (the Shark Tank star and owner of the NBA team Dallas Mavericks) tweeted Saturday that he was concerned about crypto token regulation by the SEC.
The U.S. tweeted his warning. Senator Pat Toomey, a Republican from Pennsylvania, criticized the securities watchdog after it took enforcement action against an employee of Coinbase over nine tokens being identified as securities. Coinbase immediately denied the claim that it had listed crypto securities.
Toomey noted that the enforcement action “is the perfect example of the SEC having a clear opinion on how and why certain tokens classify as securities. Yet, the SEC failed to disclose their view before launching an enforcement action.”
Cuban, whose net worth is about $4.7 billion, believes that the SEC will come up with rules on how to register crypto tokens that will be a “nightmare” for the crypto industry. He replied to Toomey: “Think this is bad? You won’t believe what the token registry has come up with. That’s the nightmare that’s waiting for the crypto industry,” the Shark Tank star wrote. How else do you keep thousands of lawyers employed and create reasons to ask for more taxpayer money?”
Cuban’s tweet includes a link to a Youtube video of him attempting to submit a no-action letter to the SEC in order to ensure that a stock purchase he is about to make would not violate insider trading laws. The billionaire, however, demonstrated the complexity of the process and stressed that investors should not be afraid to break the law. “What I found shocked even me,” Cuban wrote after going through the process as directed by the SEC.
“Most no-action letters describe the request, analyze the particular facts and circumstances involved, [and] discuss applicable laws and rules,” the SEC stated on its website. If the request for no action is granted, “the SEC staff would not recommend that the Commission take enforcement action against the requester based on the facts and representations described in the individual’s or entity’s request.”
Cuban previously criticised the SEC’s enforcement-centric approach in regulating crypto.
In August, the Dallas Mavericks owner called out SEC Chairman Gary Gensler on his “investor protection” focus. “If you were working on behalf of investors you make it easy for questions by investors and businesspeople to be asked and answered. It is almost impossible. You are the best! [who] can’t afford lawyers can only guess,” he stressed.
Recent criticisms of the SEC’s regulation of crypto by enforcement came from those who were not satisfied with its actions. U.S. Congressman Tom Emmer also slammed the SEC for “cracking down on companies outside its jurisdiction.” He asserted: “Under Chair Gensler, the SEC has become a power-hungry regulator, politicizing enforcement, baiting companies to ‘come in and talk’ to the Commission, then hitting them with enforcement actions, discouraging good-faith cooperation.”
Are you in agreement with Mark Cuban’s views? Leave a comment below.
Images CreditsShutterstock. Pixabay. Wiki Commons
DisclaimerThis information is provided for educational purposes only. This article is not intended to be a solicitation or offer to sell or buy any product, service, or company. Bitcoin.com doesn’t offer investment, tax or legal advice. The author and the company are not responsible for any loss or damage caused by the content or use of any goods, services, or information mentioned in the article.
