Did the SEC/CFTC Hearing Regarding Ethereum Actually Happen? FUD and Fake News Reigning Supreme?
Was There a Meeting About Ethereum?
It’s well-known that the cryptocurrency space is sensitive to any form of good or bad news, regardless of whether it’s genuine or not, and this latest round of news seems to have pulled the leg of many crypto enthusiasts!
So how did this all begin? Several months ago, the SEC and CFTC had an official hearing on their stance towards the blockchain space. It was a positive meeting overall, but what people noted was the viewpoint regulators took on the wide variety of digital assets in the space.
SEC Chairman Jay Clayton: “I want to go back to separating ICOs and cryptocurrencies. ICOs that are securities offerings… we should regulate them like we regulate securities offerings. End of story.”
Many began to wonder if Ethereum would be classified as a security, as it is used to create ICOs but was also originally an ICO itself!
At the start of May 2018, Wall Street Journal published an article stating that officials from the SEC and CFTC will be having a hearing on May 7th, 2018 to discuss the matter of Ethereum being a security.
News of this rumored hearing caused the markets to dip, with Bitcoin failing to break $10,000 and $20 billion in total market cap wiped from the overall markets.
What Did the SEC Say About This?
With no announcement on any official website, some members of the crypto community decided to use their initiative to ask directly! Watch below!
So, I called the SEC & they said they have no clue what the fuck everyone is talking about w Ethereum. Call them for yourselves and confirm. They’re open until 5 PM EST GMT-4
Another person at the SEC office called it a “hoax” pic.twitter.com/T5VPkLWIly
— t.me/CoinEducation (@CryptoMedicated) May 7, 2018
Ultimately, this questions the authenticity of Wall Street Journal and other mainstream news providers. The motives (if any) for spreading this potentially fake news is still unknown and is quite timely, with the upcoming Consensus event in New York, which usually has a positive effect on the price of cryptocurrencies.
What we can learn from this is the importance of verifying information from the source. Question everything, and if need be, phone them up!
Only invest what you are willing to lose, and conduct thorough research when considering the purchase of cryptocurrencies.