In the absence of clear federal policy around bitcoin, state agencies will continue to coordinate their regulatory actions around users.
Regulators continue to debate how to define cryptocurrencies, such as bitcoin, and whether they are securities, commodities or properties, etc., which is critical for how regulators choose to enforce those regulations.
At the recent National Association of Attorneys General Consumer Protection Conference in November 2021, Hester Peirce, commissioner of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), commented on the issue, saying “the view we are taking these days is that pretty much everything is a security.”
While the public has closely scrutinized nebulous and sometimes contrary statements made by federal regulators regarding cryptocurrency enforcement, two recent actions against BlockFi and Celsius — companies that let consumers buy, borrow and trade bitcoin — make it clear…
