MicroStrategy CEO and a dark bitcoin supporter, Michael Saylor, in a recent interview with Altcoin Daily Ethereum’s He said it was a stock.
Michael Saylor Thinks Ethereum Is a Securities Because Its Characteristics Can Be Changed
According to Saylor, Ethereum is not a commodity due to its exchangeability.
According to Saylor, commodities such as gold, steel and others do not have an issuer and their properties cannot be changed.
On the other hand, according to Saylor, Ethereum has an initial coin offering (ICO) and hard forks that can be used to change its properties.
Saylor noted that a digital asset whose source code can be fundamentally altered to affect its value or issuance means it has passed the Howey Test under Securities law.
Therefore, Saylor stressed that such securities should be sold with full disclosure of who the developers are and the risks associated with the project.
Meanwhile, he argued that Bitcoin is not a security because it is completely decentralized, there is no initial supply of coins, and there is little need to change the network’s code.
MicroStrategy CEO also cryptocurrency noted that its exchange lists unregistered securities on its platforms.
His views on Bitcoin and Ethereum are not surprising considering he is a Bitcoin maximalist.
His firm, MicroStrategy, is known as one of BTC’s biggest HODLERs.
Saylor’s announcement follows Senator Cynthia Lummis’s bill that classifies Bitcoin as a commodity.
Under the bill, assets that are suitably decentralized and of a distinctive nature should come under the regulatory authority of the Commodities and Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
Gary Gensler, head of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), has also argued in several interviews that most digital assets can be classified as securities.
*Not investment advice.