Charles Hoskinson Responds to Michael Saylor’s Statement
Charles Hoskinson, the founder of Cardano, has responded to Michael Saylor, the chairman of MicroStrategy, in regards to the regulatory future of multiple cryptocurrencies, among which were Ethereum, XRP, and ADA. During his speech at MicroStrategy World 2024, Saylor had predicted that U.S. Led by fresh leadership in Gary Gensler, who assumed the role of head of the US Securities and Exchange Commission this year, summer may see the commission finally make a decision that has faced it for years and classify Ether (ETH) and other leading cryptocurrencies as unregistered securities.
Saylor, a popular Bitcoin maximalist, expressed pessimism for the prospects of any altcoin, saying, “no altcoin except Bitcoin probably seeks institutional and Wall Street acceptance that is necessary for the spot ETFs to be established.”. He noted that the course would soon change, citing that Ethereum, alongside other top major cryptocurrencies, such as BNB, Solana SOL, Ripple’s XRP, Cardano ADA, would soon get recognized as securities of crypto-assets but not commodities.
The prediction goes further, and this time, it’s industry leaders taking a much broader skepticism over the approval of spot ether ETFs. Notably, Tron’s founder Justin Sun was not convinced and said he doubted that the SEC would approve an investment product based on ETH with the current scant discussions at the functional level between the SEC and potential issuers of it in the short term.
Hoskinson’s Ironic Response
In responding to Saylor’s sweeping rejection of the altcoins with sarcasm, the CEO brought out the usual narrative from the Bitcoin maximalist, which tends to front Bitcoin as the only rightful cryptocurrency and all others as being illegal or fraudulent.
He said this gives an incredibly binary light to the division in the cryptocurrency community: Bitcoin on a pedestal and other projects, at best, widely seen as lesser and even somehow nefarious at worst.
Amid these proclamations, crypto bigwigs offered their take on the news. For example, Larry Fink, CEO of BlackRock, earlier said that the launch of a spot ether ETF may still be possible even if ETH is classified as a security by the SEC. This speaks to a more delicate approach in the way cryptos may find integration into mainstream financial products, regulatory hurdles regardless.
Broader Industry Reactions
So did the CEO of Ripple, Brad Garlinghouse, who came out of the gates on fire during a Fireside Chat with Michael Arrington, founder of Arrington Capital.
He called Gensler an “indecent person,” and said that both XRP and Ethereum should not be classified as securities. This comes after a long legal battle between Ripple and the SEC and a fresh lawsuit by Consensys against the SEC, holding that Ethereum is not a security. These important implications affect the way it is handled and, consequently, traded. As a matter of fact, this position made by the SEC on Ethereum as a former security brought contradictions and uncertainty in the light of the regulatory framework that would rule over cryptos. It further compounds the discourse that former Ethereum advisor Steven Nerayoff went on record to state unequivocally that Ethereum is a security, furthering the added layer of complexity to the talks of Ethereum’s regulatory status.
The larger cryptocurrency community and those within the market are eagerly watching these developments. Classifying major cryptocurrencies as securities could mean a refashioning of the landscape for investment into cryptos and bring a major shift in how companies interface with such assets. While regulatory bodies continue to sculpt that picture for cryptocurrency operations, the outcomes of these discussions and legal battles are very likely going to set the bar for the treatment of digital assets moving forward. The exchange by Hoskinson and Saylor underscores the internal debate within the cryptocurrency community—one that has led to deep divides on both regulatory and philosophical levels.
