Bitcoin falling from the sky (Midjourney / Livecoins)
US congressmen sent an open letter to Gary Gensler, chairman of the SEC, questioning the Commission's position on prohibiting Americans from participating in so-called cryptocurrency airdrops.
Such events consist of distributing free cryptocurrencies to users, usually as a reward for those who have previously completed small tasks. Some prizes are so high that there are professionals who earn millions from them.
The model is also useful for the project to form a user base, being seen as an efficient form of marketing.
SEC is hurting the US economy, lawmakers say
The letter written by Tom Emmer and Patrick McHenry seeks clarification from the SEC on the regulation of these airdrops. That is, they want to know whether the Commission views these distributions as securities and how American citizens would be affected by this.
“The SEC’s position is that certain transactions in which digital assets are offered for free or without payment satisfy the “investment of money” criterion under the Howey Test and are therefore securities transactions.”
They then question whether cryptocurrencies that have already been declared as commodities would be classified as securities if the project carries out an airdrop of these coins.
Among other questions, the congressmen ask whether the SEC has already calculated the loss of economic growth and tax revenue caused by its hostile actions against the cryptocurrency market. The text continues with other criticisms of the Commission.
“The SEC’s regulatory approach appears to make it impossible to achieve this goal,” the lawmakers said of the industry’s decentralization. “By creating a hostile regulatory environment, including making claims about airdrops in multiple cases and increasing warnings for additional enforcement actions, the SEC is putting its thumb on the scale and preventing American citizens from shaping the next iteration of the internet.”
According to the text, several projects are already blocking Americans from participating in these airdrops for fear of getting involved in legal disputes with the SEC. In other words, while other countries are receiving an injection of capital, the US is leaving money on the table.
Letter must be answered by the 30th
Finally, the congressmen point out that the SEC must respond to the letter by September 30th. This is because this is the date on which the Commission ends its fiscal year. According to experts, this period is marked by greater reprimand from the market, after all, the Commission wants to show work to justify its budget requests.
In addition to congressmen, the SEC is also facing pressure from the market. In a hearing held this Wednesday (18), several criticisms were made of the Commission.
Among those in attendance were experts including Dan Gallangher, who worked at the SEC for four years and is now at brokerage Robinhood.
The hearing can be watched in full in the video below or read via PDF.
