Republican States' Attorneys General Sue SEC, Gensler Over Crypto 'Overreach' (foxbusiness.com) 61
Eighteen Republican state attorneys general have sued the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Chair Gary Gensler on Thursday, challenging the agency's authority to regulate cryptocurrency markets.
The lawsuit, led by Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman, alleges the SEC has exceeded its statutory powers by attempting to assume broad regulatory control over digital assets without congressional authorization. The complaint argues the agency's actions infringe on states' rights to develop their own cryptocurrency regulations and harm consumers by imposing ill-fitting federal securities laws on digital assets.
Speaking at a legal conference Thursday, Gensler defended the agency's approach, citing consistent court support for SEC enforcement actions in cryptocurrency cases. The regulatory landscape appears set for change following President-elect Trump's victory. Trump, who previously dismissed cryptocurrency as a "scam," has pledged to make the U.S. the "crypto capital of the planet" and remove Gensler.
The lawsuit, led by Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman, alleges the SEC has exceeded its statutory powers by attempting to assume broad regulatory control over digital assets without congressional authorization. The complaint argues the agency's actions infringe on states' rights to develop their own cryptocurrency regulations and harm consumers by imposing ill-fitting federal securities laws on digital assets.
Speaking at a legal conference Thursday, Gensler defended the agency's approach, citing consistent court support for SEC enforcement actions in cryptocurrency cases. The regulatory landscape appears set for change following President-elect Trump's victory. Trump, who previously dismissed cryptocurrency as a "scam," has pledged to make the U.S. the "crypto capital of the planet" and remove Gensler.
Re:Transactional policies (Score:4, Insightful)
Trump, who previously dismissed cryptocurrency as a "scam," has pledged to make the U.S. the "crypto capital of the planet" and remove Gensler.
... after Trump was suitably compensated for doing so by crypto industry lobbyists.
Addendum: Trump's reversal also came after it was explained to him how it can more easily be used for money laundering.
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Trump, who previously dismissed cryptocurrency as a "scam," has pledged to make the U.S. the "crypto capital of the planet" and remove Gensler.
... after Trump was suitably compensated for doing so by crypto industry lobbyists.
Addendum: Trump's reversal also came after it was explained to him how it can more easily be used for money laundering.
The USA is astoundingly corrupt.
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I would love to disagree with you, but we elected a convicted rapist and a felon who attempted an insurrection as our president. If the shoe fits.
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Small factual correction: Convicted felon, un-convicted rapist.
Re:Transactional policies (Score:4, Informative)
Judge clarifies: Yes, Trump was found to have raped E. Jean Carroll
https://www.washingtonpost.com... [washingtonpost.com]
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That's not a conviction. In the criminal justice system, "convicted" is a term of art with a specific meaning. Civil liability for a crime is a different standard. The evidence is clear, the legal conclusions are clear, but they aren't a conviction. That's why I agree with the "rapist" part, but objected to "convicted".
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That's not a conviction. In the criminal justice system, "convicted" is a term of art with a specific meaning. Civil liability for a crime is a different standard. The evidence is clear, the legal conclusions are clear, but they aren't a conviction. That's why I agree with the "rapist" part, but objected to "convicted".
You can try to paint a big yellow smiley on the fact that it wasn't criminal court but fact remains that a court of law found that Trump had raped that woman and that says more about the content of his character and that of those who voted for him than anything else.
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Um, if I was trying to polish that turd, I probably wouldn't say that he is, in fact, a rapist.
I was only saying the actual words I was saying.
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You can (rightly) object to the adjective "convicted" but the fact remains that a court found he was a rapist.
Adjudicated rapist. How's that? That adjective has become common in reports of the E. Jean Carroll trial(s).
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Judge clarifies: Yes, Trump was found to have raped E. Jean Carroll https://www.washingtonpost.com... [washingtonpost.com]
Yes, but he was found liable by a preponderance of the evidence, not convicted beyond a reasonable doubt.
I mean, I have no doubt that he did it, and many times, but "convicted" carries a very specific meaning, and Trump hasn't been convicted of rape, or sexual assault. Could he be? Maybe. "Beyond a reasonable doubt" is a pretty high standard, and hard to reach unless there is evidence beyond the victim's testimony. The evidence in the E. Jean Carroll case could not support a conviction, I don't think,
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I would love to disagree with you, but we elected a convicted rapist and a felon who attempted an insurrection as our president. If the shoe fits.
Remarkably enough, if you are not American, that is actually kind of uplifting because whenever I think my own country's politicians are astoundingly corrupt I just take one look at the USA and am instantly reminded that ours are complete and utter dilettantes by comparison. That being said I don't envy you guys of your fearless leaders, not even the MAGA hats.
this != this (Score:5, Funny)
CRYPTO D00DS: This is a currency market.
SEC: Oh? We're charged with regulating currency markets.
CRYPTO D00DS: Not like that.
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Re: MAGAtard! (Score:2)
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I am curious how this will be handled (Score:2)
Based on the previous Trump administration, I expect regulatory agencies to be broken and run by Trump loyalists who will do what they're told regardless of rules on the books.
So .. Trump does occasionally try to suck up to crypto bros. Will he weigh in and force a particular outcome, or will the bureaucracy function because he's moved on and will ignore it?
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Trump is now effectively a crypto bro himself, although he personally doesn't know anything about it and his kids know barely more.
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Trump is now effectively a crypto bro himself
You just made me shudder and throw up a little in my mouth.
For a moment, I envisioned crypto "Trumpcoin" -- a gold medallion with his self-satisfied smirk on one -- no, both sides. Heads or heads? Sold as a collectible at its current crypto-market value.
Yeah, I know, they exist already, bigly. [google.com]
Re:I am curious how this will be handled (Score:5, Insightful)
Based on the previous Trump administration, I expect regulatory agencies to be broken and run by Trump loyalists who will do what they're told regardless of rules on the books.
So .. Trump does occasionally try to suck up to crypto bros. Will he weigh in and force a particular outcome, or will the bureaucracy function because he's moved on and will ignore it?
Based on the way he's going about cabinet appointments, I assume he'll appoint Sam Bankman Fried in the newly created position of Government Crypto Oversight Tsar to take care of this whole issue.
Is this really good for crypto? (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Is this really good for crypto? (Score:4, Insightful)
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Crypto-currency is particularly scary because, once somebody's left holding the bag, it's going to trigger a pretty severe recession. BTC is interesting in that, soon, there won't be BTC left to mine. At that point, at current prices, there will be about $2T of BTC. When the music stops, some people are going to get wiped out. If it's only BTC, that might not have a contagion effect but if it makes people realize the crypto-currencies
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What happens when a state cryptocurrency is traded across state borders? It seems to me the feds will have something to say about it then.
Mark my words (Score:5, Informative)
The only inherent value in crypto is its utility in money laundering and Ponzi schemes. It is not a good payment facilitator because it requires way way way more computing power and therefore expensive electricity than a simple banking system like we have now.
Now the risk was always that governments were going to finally crack down on crypto and the crimes there in. Without the election in America when that's basically impossible now.
But those are crimes for a reason and the probability of a major savings and loan style crash is now the main risk. Imagine for example if the banks did what they did in 2008 with mortgaged back securities but replaced mortgages with pretend money. Unlike 2008 where the bleeding eventually stopped because there were houses you would have pretend money that is completely and genuinely worthless. There is absolutely no bottom to that crash.
What I'm saying is fasten your seat belts it's going to be a bumpy ride. we have had just enough regulation and oversight to keep the worst from happening and all of that is about to go out the window. It's like how we don't have major problems with our ozone and everyone thinks that means we don't have to worry about it but we did a ton of stuff to fix the ozone layer...
It's the classic problem that nobody gets a ticker tape parade for stopping a disaster.
Re:Mark my words (Score:5, Interesting)
"The only inherent value in crypto is its utility in money laundering and Ponzi schemes."
That's an unfair characterization. It's also good for illicit trafficking on the dark web and ransomware.
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Unlike 2008 where the bleeding eventually stopped because there were houses you would have pretend money that is completely and genuinely worthless
Even the 2008 crisis could've been avoided, [pbs.org] if it hadn't been for a clash of personalities:
It was more a systemic issue (Score:3)
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what you're describing isn't really a clash of personalities so much as "elements in the Clinton administration wanted to do risky deregulation and other, smarter or less corrupt people didn't want to take those risks".
The summary doesn't go into details, but essentially someone with knowledge of what was coming (I don't recall her name at the moment) tried to educate the powers that be about the dangers of the derivatives market, but since Clinton didn't get along with her, she never was put in any position of power or influence for her warnings to ever even be considered.
Note that it's been years since I watched that, so there's a possibility I'm mixing it with another documentary, but I do recall this scenario occurrin
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A direct cause of the ARM A meltdown was the repeal of the Glass Steagall act by Bill Clinton. This was a gift to the banking industry by Bill and in my opinion was a marker of the shifting of the DNC/democratic party to what they are today. There were protections in place before this happened that would have prevented this from happening.
Re:Mark my words (Score:4, Insightful)
How about how Trump and his idiotic tax cuts for the very wealthy have caused the national debt to go through the roof. Aren't Republicans supposed to care about this stuff?
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Most republicans think of themselves as temporarily embarrassed millionaires.
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What's to worry about my 401k....I can always count on Social Security when I retire in another 25ish years right..............
(I'm going to have to work until I'm dead aren't I).
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If you still have 25 working years left, such a crash is a 401k opportunity as you can buy the crash and juice your returns. If you're 10 years from retirement, well, that could bite pretty hard.
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can't they just say Interstate commerce (Score:2)
Re:can't they just say Interstate commerce (Score:5, Insightful)
Yes, the administration can. Which is exactly what it is. This is no different than the SEC regulating the financial markets. If people are claiming that crypto can be used as cash, can be traded, and there is an entire industry built around it, the SEC can regulate it.
If these AGs had a wit of intelligence about them, they would know this is how inflation happened in the early days of our country. Every state had its own currency and the value of the state currency was dependent on a multitude of issues including how far from the state you were when trying to exchange their currency.
But apparently, due to the lack of basic education in this country, people don't know the history of our country and why things are the way they are. Considering how inept the Supreme Court when it comes to Constitutional issues, this isn't surprising.
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But apparently, due to the lack of basic education in this country, people don't know the history of our country and why things are the way they are. Considering how inept the Supreme Court when it comes to Constitutional issues, this isn't surprising.
The leopards are getting fat lately. https://www.bbc.com/news/artic... [bbc.com]
People who voted for him are suddenly asking what's going to happen with their special needs child...
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Not to mention suddenly realizing what a tariff is and how much it's going to cost them.
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It's possible Congress can.
An executive agency definitely may not.
That's the whole point of the /Virginia/ case and the Major Questions Test.
We're in an odd position now where the people who want unlimited federal executive power, in general, have to think about Trump wielding it.
The Biden/Harris SEC has been flagrantly flouting the /Virginia/ decision, running totally amok of the Law.
Gensler should be arrested.
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Gensler should be arrested.
And charged with...? Not being liked by republicans?
All laws are "overreach" to criminals. (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:All laws are "overreach" to criminals. (Score:4, Interesting)
Republicans love every form of fraud they've ever met, but they have a special jones for ones that transfer wealth from average fools to wealthy pigs.
The next bubble is now officially started, this one might make the subprime bubble look like a momentary burp when the crypto bubble bursts.
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The same old playbook. Privatize the profits and socialize the losses.
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The SEC can't regulate euros, bit it can regulate US-based markets that trade euros or euro derivatives.
Scammers gonna scam (Score:5, Insightful)
You just can't make this shit up.
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It always was. But the mask is finally off and they don't care because checks and balances only work when politicians operate in good faith.
Crypto is like ... (Score:2)
We should have done this several decades ago with CDOs and other synthetic securities. There would have been no crash in 2008 because it would have been no different than some kid losing his bottle-cap collection.