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SEC Chairman Gary Gensler in 2018: Ethereum is decentralized enough and not a security

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SEC Chairman Gary Gensler in 2018: Ethereum is decentralized enough and not a security

In recent times, the cryptocurrency community and developer @ZK_shark have been continuously uncovering inconsistencies in Gary Gensler's past lectures at MIT, highlighting the contradiction between SEC Chairman Gary Gensler's statement that most cryptocurrencies are not securities and his previous view in 2018 that Ethereum is decentralized enough and does not fall under the category of securities.

SEC Chairman Gary Gensler: Ethereum is not a Security

Gensler mentioned in a course on "Smart Contracts and DApps":

Bitcoin started in January 2009 when no one owned any Bitcoin. Ethereum, on the other hand, started with an ICO. Vitalik wanted to raise funds; he was about 19 at the time. After discussions with venture capitalist Joe Lubin, Lubin obtained around 10% or 9.5% of the ETH shares and put it into the Ethereum Foundation. The remaining 80% was sold to the public at a price of $18 million. I have publicly stated that Ethereum was a security, but that was in 2014. In 2018, the SEC clarified: "No matter what Ethereum was in 2014, it is sufficiently decentralized now, and we do not consider it a security anymore."

SEC Chairman Gary Gensler's Contradiction

Gensler's argument at the time seems to have referenced former SEC Director of Corporate Finance William Hinman's public remarks at the Yahoo Finance Summit, as well as arguments from former SEC chairmen. Hinman stated that Ethereum did not fall under the category of securities under the Howey Test standards.

Hinman's speech can still be found on the SEC website and was brought up by House Financial Services Committee Chairman Patrick McHenry in mid-April to question Gensler.

Former SEC Chairman Jay Clayton also believes that both Bitcoin and Ether are commodities.

About former SEC Chairman Jay Clayton: After experiencing the ICO, STO, and DeFi boom for three and a half years, the chairman of the US Securities and Exchange Commission announced that Jay Clayton will step down at the end of this year

Former SEC Chairman Gary Gensler: Most Cryptocurrencies are not Securities

Recently, the crypto community and developer @ZK_shark have continuously pointed out contradictions in Gensler's past teachings, including the Ethereum discourse in this article and the previous statement that "most cryptocurrencies are not securities," which he first announced on Twitter.

@ZK_shark's previous findings include a video: Gary Gensler, personally stating in a lecture that most cryptocurrencies are not securities, but commodities and crypto cash

@ZK_shark also informed Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, who was recently issued a Wells notice by the SEC, that he has identified over 100 instances of conflicts of interest and inconsistencies with congressional testimony from Gensler in 24 other lecture videos and is willing to assist the Coinbase team.