đđđ SEC likely still believes $SOL is a security, say crypto execs
Despite retracting its request for a court decision on whether Solana (SOL) is a security as part of its Binance lawsuit on July 30, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has not definitively cleared Solana of being classified as a security.
#JakeChervinsky , Chief Legal Officer at Variant Fund, noted on July 30 that the SECâs retraction does not imply a conclusion that Solana is not a security. The SECâs latest move involves amending its complaint related to âThird Party Crypto Asset Securities,â essentially withdrawing its request for a court determination on the security status of the tokens involved in the lawsuit.
Chervinsky pointed out that despite this retraction, the SEC continues to refer to these tokens as securities in other cases, such as its ongoing lawsuit against Coinbase.
Miles Jennings, General Counsel at a16z Crypto, and Justin Slaughter, Policy Director at Paradigm, also weighed in.
Slaughter suggested that the retraction may be overinterpreted & does not imply that Solana or other tokens are non-securities. Jennings noted that Judge Amy Berman Jacksonâs high bar in the Binance case might make it difficult for the SEC to prove these tokens as securities, despite Judge Katherine Polk Faillaâs support for the SECâs stance in the Coinbase case.
Jennings doubts the SECâs ability to connect token sales on secondary markets with token issuersâ managerial efforts, suggesting this might be a strategic decision rather than reflecting the SECâs stance on the tokens.
Tokens Affected
In its lawsuit against Binance, the SEC identified several tokens as securities, including:
1. Solana (SOL) â $184
2. $BNB BNB) â $587
3. Cardano ($ADA ) â $0.40
4. Polygon (MATIC) â $0.515
5. The Sandbox (SAND) â $0.33
6. Decentraland (MANA) â $0.33
7. Axie Infinity (AXS) â $5.82
The SEC had previously asserted that at least 68 tokens were securities, impacting over $100 billion worth of #cryptocurrencies.