The legality of Bitcoin and Ethereum as a legit currency has been under the scanner for a long time. However, speculations were ended on June 5, when the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) confirmed Ethereum as a legal tender and usable foreign currency.
In a lawsuit against Kik’s (KIN) token sale, the reiterated its comment made last year that Bitcoin and Ethereum are not securities. In its official statement mentioned in the lawsuit, it said,
Investors’ purchases of Kin were an investment of money, in a common enterprise, with an expectation of profits for both Kik and the offerees, derived primarily from the future efforts of Kik and others to build the Kin Ecosystem and drive demand for Kin. Consequently, Kik’s offer and sale of Kin in 2017 was an offer and sale of securities.
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Kik is a Canadian messaging application and social media giant, which is gearing up to take the crypto space by storm. However, in the recent turn of events, the company is engaged in a legal battle with the US regulator, which has accused it of “turning to sell tokens out of desperation.”
As per reports, SEC holds that Ethereum’s decentralized structure is such that it cannot be termed as a security, and therefore, no future is promised. Similar views were held for Bitcoin too. What this could mean is that forks of these two blockchains, including Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, Ethereum Classic, etc. can also manage to doge the tag of ‘securities’ rather than currencies.
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Cryptocurrencies have faced some serious criticism for their lack of usability. Some even compared Bitcoin to a button on their suit. In such an adverse climate, SEC’s remark bring much-needed relief to Ethereum holders. If SEC recognizes it as a legal tender, then sure, it does have some usability.
