According to Mark Moss, the CEO of Market Disruptor, significant regulation is coming to the cryptocurrency industry following the aftermath of FTX’s collapse. He believes that future cryptocurrency bull runs probably won’t happen. However, Moss says that bitcoin will continue to see demand as it is “solving a problem that has plagued humanity from Day One.”
Market Disruptor CEO Predicts Regulatory Shift in Wake of FTX Collapse, Sees Most Cryptocurrency Assets Regulated as Securities in Future
On Dec. 29, 2022, Mark Moss, the CEO of Market Disruptor, spoke with Michelle Makori, the lead anchor of Kitco News and the company’s editor-in-chief, about the cryptocurrency industry and bitcoin (BTC). Moss believes that the recent FTX collapse has accelerated regulation, and he thinks that most cryptocurrency assets will be regulated as securities in the future. As an example, the recent U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) charges against FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried define FTX’s exchange token, FTT, as an unregulated security.
To furnish another specific example, a New Hampshire court also sided with the SEC in the lawsuit against LBRY, and LBRY said the language used to sway the court’s decision “sets an extraordinarily dangerous precedent.” Moss told Makori that deeming most crypto tokens as securities will likely force projects to create full disclosures for investors. “Imagine Ethereum going through full disclosure,” Moss said during the interview. “Who created the token? How many [coins] are controlled by insiders?”
The Market Disruptor executive and author of the ”The Un-Communist Manifesto” added:
What’s the connection between the Ethereum Foundation, Joseph Lubin, and Vitalik Buterin? Who controls the tokens in The Merge lockup?… I can’t imagine they’d want to [go through full disclosure].
Moss said that it’s likely some crypto projects move offshore, but he stressed that he believes the money from U.S. investors won’t follow these projects. “Sure, the SEC clamps down and [cryptocurrencies] goes offshore … to some small jurisdiction,” Moss said to Makori. “But the American venture capital companies can’t skate past U.S. regulations to try to invest in these little obscure markets. So sure, it’ll move to another country… but the money won’t go with it, which drives the entire market cap.”
While Moss doesn’t expect another altcoin season or crypto bull run, he does believe the leading crypto asset bitcoin (BTC) will continue to prosper. Moss insists BTC is a “technological revolution that changes the course of humanity and drives financial markets.” Moss further said that he doesn’t want the regulatory hammer to come crashing down, and further insisted that he was just explaining the case as he sees it unfolding. Moss stressed:
Now is the time [regulators] are going to be forced to react. The SEC looks horrible … the [SEC’s] number one job is to protect consumers, and they have failed. They should shut down in disgrace and close up shop … Of course that’s not going to happen, but they need to regain confidence somehow, and I believe [the FTX collapse] is going to force [regulators] to act.
Moss Forecasts Bitcoin Price to Reach $33K-$38K Next Year, Debate Over Securities Classification in Crypto Industry Looms
In 2023, Moss expects BTC to hit $33K per unit and possibly even $38K. “Bitcoin is solving a problem that has plagued humanity from Day One, which is, how do I secure my property so it can’t be manipulated, seized, or stolen?’” Moss remarked. “I can have custody of [Bitcoin] and if I want to send it to you, nobody could stop it, block it, or prevent it.”
There’s a lot of debate over whether specific crypto assets should be considered securities, and in the U.S., regulators have not reached a full consensus. For example, SEC chairman Gary Gensler has said that most crypto tokens are securities and he once said the “law is clear on this.” “I believe based on the facts and circumstances, most of these tokens are securities,” Gensler said during an interview.
Gensler also once declared that he could confirm that bitcoin (BTC) is a commodity, but it’s the only crypto token he would talk about in that fashion. In May, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) chairman Rostin Behnam said he could surely say bitcoin is a commodity. “Well, I can say for sure bitcoin … is a commodity. Ether as well,” Behnam elaborated during his interview with CNBC.
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What are your thoughts on Mark Moss’s recent conversation with Michelle Makori about the cryptocurrency industry? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.
Jamie Redman
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