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John Reed Stark opposes regulatory reform at SEC crypto roundtable
John Reed Stark, the former director of the Office of Internet Enforcement at the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), pushed back against the idea of regulatory reform at the first SEC crypto roundtable.
The former regulator said the Securities Act of 1933 and 1934 should not be changed to accommodate digital assets and urged that digital assets do not escape the definition of securities under the current laws.
The first-ever SEC crypto roundtable. Source: SEC
“The people buying crypto are not collectors. We all know that they are investors, and the mission of the SEC is to protect investors,” Stark said. The former official added:
“The volume of case law has developed so quickly because of all these crypto firms. They went for this sort of delay, delay, delay, idea, and they hired the best law firms in the world, and these law firms all fought the SEC with incredible briefs.”
“I have read every single one of them. And they lost just about, I would argue, every single time,” he continued.
Stark concluded that he saw no innovation in digital assets or cryptocurrencies compared to previous online revolutions, such as the debut of the iPhone.
John Reed Stark, pictured on the far right, arguing against comprehensive regulatory reform. Source: SEC
Related: SEC’s deadline extension is a ‘fork’ in case against Coinbase — John Reed Stark
John Reed Stark: one of crypto’s staunchest critics
Stark has been one of the most vocal opponents of cryptocurrencies and the digital asset industry, often criticizing the industry for a lack of transparency and accountability.
In February 2024, the former SEC official characterized a sponsorship deal between the Dallas Mavericks — a National Basketball Association (NBA) team — and crypto firm Voyager as an agreement with a “heroin manufacturing firm.”
Stark later said that the government agency’s regulation by enforcement under former chairman Gary Gensler was warranted and added that cryptocurrency must conform to existing laws rather than the law evolving to embrace the future of money.
Stark’s anti-crypto stance has been criticized by industry executives and investors as unhinged. In June 2023, notable investor Mark Cuban called out Reed’s views as “crypto derangement syndrome.”
Magazine: SEC’s U-turn on crypto leaves key questions unanswered
Bitcoin (BTC) circled $85,000 into the March 23 weekly close as excitement over a key trend change brewed. BTC/USD 1-hour chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD finding strength during weekend trading. Up 1.5% on the day, Bitcoin edged higher as part of a broad crypto market uptick, which also lifted various major altcoins. “I think this next week will be telling where the market wants to head for the next higher timeframe move,” popular trader Daan Crypto Trades wrote in part of his latest X analysis, noting the closing position of CME Group’s Bitcoin futures. BTC/USD 15-minute chart. Source: Daan Crypto Trades/X The post echoed the broader market sentiment as traders eyed the potential for a fresh push higher into the monthly close. Popular trader and analyst Rekt Capital reiterated encouraging breakout signs on daily timeframes for Bitcoin’s relative strength index (RSI). “The Daily RSI is showcasing early signs of retesting the Downtrend dating back to November 2024 as new support,” he reported. BTC/USD 1-day chart with RSI data. Source: Rekt Capital/X For fellow analyst Matthew Hyland, however, current price levels held deeper significance. For the first time in six months, he revealed on the day that BTC/USD was about to seal a key bullish RSI divergence on weekly timeframes. “BTC can make weekly bullish divergence for the first time since September tonight,” he confirmed on X. “Currently in position.” BTC/USD 1-week chart with RSI data. Source: Matthew Hyland/X Elsewhere, trading team Stockmoney Lizards shrugged off the idea that Bitcoin risked entering a long-term bear market. Related: Here’s why Bitcoin price can’t go higher than $87.5K The local bottom, it told X followers in its latest market analysis, lay at $76,000 — a level already revisited earlier this month. “While many are panicking and declaring a bear market, the long-term trend channel (green lines) remains firmly intact,” it summarized alongside a chart showing BTC price fluctuations around an average trend line during bull markets. “This correction doesn’t invalidate the uptrend – it confirms it.” BTC/USD 1-week chart. Source: Stockmoney Lizards/X Stockmoney Lizards acknowledged that upside continuation may take some time. “This test doesn’t guarantee an immediate pump, but history indicates we’re approaching a bottoming zone,” it concluded. “How long does this take? Well, nobody knows. These days, news, macroeconomic signals etc. can determine the duration of our correction. Educated guess: a couple of weeks.” This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision. The Sonic blockchain is working on the implementation of its yield-generating, algorithmic stablecoin despite fears over a potential collapse similar to the Terra-Luna meltdown that led to the industry’s longest crypto winter. Algorithmic stablecoins employ code-based mechanisms to ensure their price stability, as opposed to fiat stablecoins pegged directly to the value of the underlying currency. The Sonic blockchain is working on the implementation of an algorithmic stablecoin with up to 23% annual percentage rate (APR), according to Andre Cronje, co-founder of Sonic Labs and founder of Yearn.finance. Cronje wrote in a March 22 X post: “POC looks good. Yielding > 200% APR @ 10m tvl, around 23.5% APR @ 100m, steady at around 4.9% at 1bn+. Will scale up and get team for a full release.” Source: Andre Cronje The announcement came a day after Cronje admitted to experiencing Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) related to algorithmic stablecoin due to previous cycles: “Pretty sure our team cracked algo stable coins today, but previous cycle gave me so much PTSD not sure if we should implement.” In May 2022, the $40 billion Terra ecosystem collapsed, erasing tens of billions of dollars of value in a matter of days. Terra’s algorithmic stablecoin, TerraUSD (UST), was yielding an over 20% annual percentage yield (APY) on Anchor Protocol. As UST lost its dollar peg, crashing to a low of around $0.30, Terraform Labs co-founder Do Kwon took to X to share his rescue plan. At the same time, the value of sister token LUNA, once a top-10 crypto project by market capitalization, plunged over 98% to $0.84. For reference: LUNA was trading north of $120 in early April. Related: Sonic TVL rises 66% to $253M since rebranding from Fantom Sonic claims to be the world’s fastest Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) chain, with a “true” 720 milliseconds (ms) finality — the assurance that a transaction is irreversible, which happens after it is added to a block on the blockchain ledger. Sonic has garnered attention in the crypto industry since its testnet achieved a 720 ms finality on Sept. 8, 2024. Related: FTX liquidated $1.5B in 3AC assets 2 weeks before hedge fund’s collapse The Terra (LUNA) token is down over 98% from its all-time high of 19.54 recorded on May 28, 2022, nearly three years ago, CoinMarketCap data shows. LUNA/USD, all-time chart. Source: CoinMarketCap Despite the collapse, the token saw over $21 million worth of trading volume over the past 24 hours, which shows that “people are still buying it even though it’s dead,” noted popular technical analyst Optimus KevTron. The collapse of the algorithmic stablecoin issuer created shockwaves among both crypto investors and lawmakers. To create more stability, the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) bill will prohibit the issuance of algorithmic stablecoins to avoid another collapse similar to the Terra ecosystem’s. Magazine: ‘Hong Kong’s FTX’ victims win lawsuit, bankers bash stablecoins: Asia Express A crypto analyst says inaccurate narratives still circulate in the cryptocurrency market, mainly based on skewed information rather than onchain data to back it up. “Beware of misinformation. Despite the data, misleading narratives persist,” CryptoQuant contributor “Onchained,” said in a March 22 market report. “Such claims often lack onchain validation and are driven by sensationalist market sentiment rather than objective analysis,” the analyst said, adding: “Trust data, not noise, verify sources and cross-check onchain metrics.” Onchained pointed to the recent movements of Bitcoin (BTC) long-term holders (LTH) — those holding for over 155 days — as an example of false narratives clashing with real data. The analyst pointed out that while some narratives claim Bitcoin long-term holders are “capitulating,” the data shows they’re remaining consistent. “The data leaves no room for speculation,” Onchained said. The Inactive Supply Shift Index (ISSI) — which measures the degree to which long-dormant Bitcoin supply is shifting — “shows no meaningful LTH selling pressure, reinforcing a narrative of structural demand outpacing supply,” Onchained said. Crypto analytics platform Glassnode recently made a similar observation based on data, saying, “Long-Term Holder activity remains largely subdued, with a notable decline in their sell-side pressure.” Crypto market narratives are constantly changing and being challenged. One long-standing crypto narrative under debate is the relevance of the 4-year cycle theory, which suggests that Bitcoin’s price follows a predictable pattern tied to its halving event every four years. Source: Tomas Greif MN Trading Capital founder Michael van de Poppe said in a March 22 X post, “I assume that we can erase the entire 4-year cycle theory and that we’re in a longer cycle for Altcoins.” Related: Crypto markets will be pressured by trade wars until April: Analyst Echoing a similar sentiment, Bitwise Invest chief investment officer Matt Hougan recently said that “the traditional four-year cycle is over in crypto” due to the recent change in the US government’s stance. “Crypto has moved in four-year cycles since its earliest days. But the change in DC introduces a new wave that will play out over a decade,” Hougan said. Alongside this, some analysts are even debating whether the entire Bitcoin bull market is over. CryptoQuant founder and CEO Ki Young Ju said in a March 17 X post, “Bitcoin bull cycle is over, expecting 6-12 months of bearish or sideways price action.” Ju said all Bitcoin onchain metrics indicate a bear market. “With fresh liquidity drying up, new whales are selling Bitcoin at lower prices,” Ju said. Magazine: Dummies guide to native rollups: L2s as secure as Ethereum itself Arthur Hayes, Murad’s Prediction For Meme Coins, AI & DeFi Coins For 2025 Expert Sees Bitcoin Dipping To $50K While Bullish Signs Persist Aptos Leverages Chainlink To Enhance Scalability and Data Access Bitcoin Could Rally to $80,000 on the Eve of US Elections Institutional Investors Go All In on Crypto as 57% Plan to Boost Allocations as Bull Run Heats Up, Sygnum Survey Reveals Sonic Now ‘Golden Standard’ of Layer-2s After Scaling Transactions to 16,000+ per Second, Says Andre Cronje Crypto’s Big Trump Gamble Is Risky Ripple-SEC Case Ends, But These 3 Rivals Could Jump 500x
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Bitcoin price meets decisive RSI setup
Bull market to return in “a couple of weeks?”
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Investors are still buying collapsed LUNA token years after Terra crash
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Narratives are always being challenged
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