The Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) multiple initiatives have sent a wave of panic through the crypto community in recent weeks. Solana’s SOL in particular has been cited as one of the assets whose trading poses a problem… But the Solana community is confident, and believes that blockchain is not in peril.
Solana, one of the SEC’s indirect targets
The US financial watchdog is accusing Binance and Coinbase in particular of having sold “securities”. These assets are subject to a degree of regulatory uncertainty, and fall under the SEC’s supervision. In its complaint against Binance, the SEC found that several major cryptocurrencies were securities: BNB, BUSD, SOL, ADA, MATIC, FIL, ATOM, SAND, MANA, ALGO, AXS and COTI.
In response to the accusations, Binance.US temporarily halted its fiat withdrawals, while Coinbase instead said its operations were unchanged. For their part, the indirectly affected cryptocurrency communities also commented on the SEC’s actions. And for Solana, the US financial regulator’s accusations are absurd.
The Solana Foundation said in a statement that SOL is not a security at all:
The Solana Foundation firmly believes that the SOL is not a security. SOL is the native token of the Solana blockchain, which is itself a robust, open source, community-based software project built on the decentralised engagement of users and developers. “
Interviewed by CoinDesk, a Solana developer at a New York event this weekend summed it up even more neatly:
“I don’t think any developer cares. Whether SOL is a security or not doesn’t really affect the people building on Solana. “
The value of decentralising cryptocurrencies
For it must be remembered that the SEC’s attacks are aimed at centralised entities operating on US territory. And while Gary Gensler’s campaign will of course have an effect on the ecosystem as a whole, in the end it will only have a limited impact. Blockchains, by their very nature, cannot be stopped by the US financial regulator, which only has real reach over centralised platforms.
That said, the SEC’s actions are having an effect on cryptocurrency prices, as they are sowing panic among investors. Binance’s native cryptocurrency, BNB, lost 15% over the week. And SOL is also suffering, even though its blockchain is not directly affected:
The SOL share price has fallen sharply since the SEC announcement
The SEC’s campaign is likely to have a positive effect on the decentralisation of cryptocurrencies, from a geographical point of view. We could indeed see an exodus of companies, and the creation of important new poles of influence beyond the United States.
