• Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin praised SEC Chair Gary Gensler as a „shining knight of decentralization“ at ETHDenver.
• Gensler is driving projects in the ecosystem to decentralize themselves, and recently enforced Kraken’s staking product as a security offering.
• Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse has been critical of recent regulatory rumblings and believes compliance cannot be achieved through registration alone.
Ethereum Co-Founder Praises Gary Gensler
Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin praised Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler as a „shining knight of decentralization“ at ETHDenver, a virtual event that ended on March 5th.
Gensler Driving Decentralization Forward
Lubin spoke candidly about recent regulatory enforcement actions, holding Gensler as a catalyst for driving decentralization – much to the audience’s jeers. He used the example of the SEC action against Kraken’s staking product, which was determined to be a security offering due to language that suggested investors would make money based on Kraken’s efforts. This falls under securities laws, specifically the Howey Test which determines whether an investment contract meets the definition of a security.
Ripple CEO Criticizes Regulatory Rumblings
Recent regulatory rumblings have drawn heat from the crypto community with Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse being particularly critical of them. He said that compliance cannot be achieved by simply registering, and warned against unfair enforcement actions from regulators.
Kraken Settles with SEC
On February 9th, Kraken settled with the SEC and paid out $30 million in penalties over allegations it was operating an unregistered security offering through its staking program. This spooked other staking providers such as Coinbase who are prepared to defend their own programs if necessary.
Conclusion
This article discussed Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin praising SEC Chair Gary Gensler for driving decentralization forward and enforcing regulations such as those involving Kraken’s staking product. Not everyone agrees with these measures however – Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse has spoken out against them believing them to be overly restrictive or unfair enforcement actions from regulators not achievable through registration alone.
