Sam breaks down why Bitcoin keeps getting declared dead, what regulators are actually doing about crypto, and why the SEC thinks most ICO tokens are securities. Brad Garlinghouse defends Ripple and XRP against a class-action lawsuit while Steve Wozniak calls bitcoin digital gold.
If you go down to Quin Market Cap today, don't believe the bears. If you go down to CoinMarketCap today, don't get caught under wares. For every bear that ever was, we'll say trading volumes are down, Google searches are down, and bitcoin will never reach 10k because today is the day the bitcoin bears have their picnic and they're having a lovely time today. But I, Tom Lee, have some things to say. Google searches are not a leading indicator. Trading volumes are up from last year, so 10k is not a problem. Hope you're sitting comfortably. It's time for your weekly Hodler's Digest. Mike Novogratz thinks cryptomania caught regulators flat footed last year. Regulators were worried when Bitcoin hit $19,000 in December, but were not sure what to do. An example of the mania was when CNBC walked people through buying Ripple. Then the price plummeted. That is absolute bullshit and I'll tell you why. This was peak nonsense according to Novogratz. Now that things have gone down a bit and regulators have had time to think, they want to. But Novogratz isn't afraid of the regulators going after fraud and market manipulation he believes would be a good thing in terms of securities. He pointed out that bitcoin was determined as not being a security, and while Ethereum might have been a security in the past, it is not one now. Because regulators weren't ahead of crypto. Some tokens are now in a regulatory no man's land and they have to figure out what to do. Novogratz predicts that they're going to have to single out the worst actors, go after a law firm or a token or even a celebrity promoter in order to make an example out of them. Just to say dudes play by the rules. He thinks that regulators can play a constructive role in bringing crypto to the masses. Well, Mike, we hope you're right. Many altcoins are suffering from teenager levels of insecurity regarding securities, not bitcoin. The SEC chairman Jay Clayton believes that bitcoin is not a security since it acts as a replacement for sovereign currencies. He would not comment on specific cryptocurrencies besides bitcoin, but clarified the SEC's position.
On tokens where I give you my money and you go off and make a venture. You have some company you want to start or something you want, and in return for me giving you my money, you say, you know what, I'm going to give you a return or you can get a return in the secondary market by selling your token to somebody that is a security.
Ripple and Ethereum have repeatedly and emphatically denied that they were ever securities. Ripple is facing a class action lawsuit from an investor claiming that the sale of XRP is the sale of an unregistered security, with the former SEC chair recently appointed to represent Ripple in court. But According to the SEC, ICOs are undoubtedly securities and the ICO community doesn't get any special favors. We're not going to do any violence to the traditional definition of a security, which has worked well for a long time. The global financial system also worked well for a long time. Then came 2008. Besides, what's wrong with a little violence if you're fighting the good fight? Bitcoin is not going to be the panacea that people once thought it would be. Bitcoin will have a role in the future, but not one that will see it solve major problems like becoming a global currency. Big talk from Garlinghouse there who can't seem to solve Ripple's problem of getting onto major exchanges. Brad Garlinghouse said Bitcoin blockchain is quite slow, whereas ripple transactions are 1,000 times faster. Shots fired? Well, no, Garlinghouse doesn't think in terms of one coin versus another. He believes overall growth in the crypto space will result in many winners. However, Bitcoin's ability to affect the price of other cryptocurrencies will soon come to an end as people realize the differences between coins. Ripple does have some troubles. A disgruntled investor has filed a class action lawsuit that claims ripple violated U.S. securities law. Garlinghouse calls the claims outrageous. He is not worried that the lawsuit will determine whether Ripple is a security. He is confident that Ripple is in fact not a security.
From an ownership point of view, XRP doesn't give you any ownership of Ripple Equity and also XRP has a lot of utility. So to me it's quite different from what a security looks like and I think ultimately we'll find that conclusion.
1. Bitcoin is about the same value as the world's most valuable Note. Issued in 2006 by Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, the ten thousand rooney dollar note is worth about seven thousand dollars, not quite enough to buy a whole Bitcoin depending on the day. The huge denomination is not very practical for buying a coffee, but useful during wartime or for criminal activity. The currencies may be similar in value, but Bitcoin and Bruni are worlds apart. Bolkiat is one of the world's richest leaders due to Bruni's plentiful oil fields. He is also one of the last absolute monarchs. Pretty much as centralized as you can get. The banknote goes against global trends. Most nations are moving away from high denomination bills. The EU got rid of theirs, citing fears that the bills could be used to money launder or finance terrorism. We at Cointelegraph always advise to hodl, but if you do sell, maybe consider converting your bitcoin into ten thousand rune dollar denominations. It may not be all that divisible, but it is certainly more portable now time for some WTF king of WTF John McAfee has announced he's running for president, preferably for his beloved Libertari. But if the rape and murder allegations are a bad look for that party, he'll just form his own party. When he ran in 2016, it seemed like a ridiculous idea. Then Trump happened and now anything can happen. Say what you like about the man. Personally, he is bullish on bitcoin. Earlier this year, McAfee said Bitcoin would hit $1 million by the end of 2020. Would you vote for the first crypto president? Whatever happens, at least the memes will be cool. This week Bitcoin died for the 300th time, according to 99 Bitcoin's Bitcoin obituary list. Bitcoin suffered its most recent death in a Forbes article. Forbes believes bitcoin's Achilles heel is its huge energy consumption, adding that miners underestimate these risks. In total, Bitcoin died 62 times this year. Big names in the finance world have offered their own obituaries for for crypto. Warren Buffett described bitcoin as rat poison squared and bank of England governor Mark Carney claimed that bitcoin has failed as a currency. However, amid the fudmeisters there is Steve Woz Wozniak and he is back again with more bitcoin hype. Apple Co founder said at Money20 20 that Bitcoin is pure digital gold and spoke about the benefits of both bitcoin and blockchain. He reminded everyone that he's not an investor. He sold most of his bitcoin but kept one along with an ether. It was just an experiment for him, but he is a believer. Might be a bubble, but it's on the right track. Click the link below to watch more from the Steve Wozniak interview. And while you're there, go check out our exclusive Block show interviews with top people from the crypto world. And as always, like subscribe and hodl. Sam.
