The rumors had been circulating for some time and were gaining traction as more people were discussing them. In an effort to quell the speculation. The cryptocurrency industry was abuzz recently with rumors about the SEC. It was about to impose a ban on staking for retail speculators in the United States.
This widespread speculation was quickly dismissed as unfounded fear, uncertainty, and doubt (FUD). Despite that Coinbase (NASDAQ: COIN) CEO Brian Armstrong stirred up even more controversy. He went on an impassioned Twitter tirade, spewing what many have deemed to be outright misinformation.
I’m going to take an in-depth look at this tweetstorm, examining each point Armstrong made one by one and demonstrating how his comments either indicate he is deliberately deceiving his followers or that he is completely unaware of what he is talking about – neither of which reflects well on the leader of a company that has been dubbed ‘the AOL of cryptocurrency’.
Banning staking would be a terrible path
Brian Armstrong made a controversial statement recently, claiming that the SEC’s rumored plans to get rid of staking digital currencies for US-based retail speculators would be a “terrible path.” While I understand his opinion, I can’t help but disagree with him. After all, consumer protection is paramount in almost every other industry. why should digital currencies be any different?
Not only that, but we’ve seen just how devastating the consequences can be for those who get involved without fully understanding the implications. In the past year alone, rumors of suicides have been linked to the LUNA implosion. This has also been seen in other countless other financial disasters that have been connected to worthless proof-of-stake tokens.
Ultimately, this is just my opinion and I do somewhat agree that banning retail speculators from staking is a bit harsh. However, it may be necessary as a temporary measure until legal issues around these tokens are worked out. It’s very possible that these tokens are in fact securities
Conclusion
It quickly became clear that he had not done his due diligence on this issue. However, it is said that he was relying on incomplete information to make assumptions about what the SEC may or may not do in regard to staking rewards. As such, his comments have only added further confusion and uncertainty surrounding the topic of retail staking in the US.
