‘Near impossible to know’ what is and isn’t a security: Mark Cuban on SEC

Billionaire investor Mark Cuban has become one of the latest industry figures to call out the United States securities regulator for purportedly failing to provide cryptocurrency firms with a clear registration process.

The Shark Tank investor claimed in a June 11 tweet that no registration exists in the United States Securities and Exchange Commission’s “Framework for ‘Investment Contract’ Analysis of Digital Assets” document, making it “near impossible to know” what constitutes a security in the “crypto universe.”

“Unfortunately none of the elements presented in this page are part of the registration process. Which makes it near impossible to know, with or without an army of securities lawyers, what is or is not a security in the crypto universe.”

This is an SEC WEB PAGE about the howey test and tokens that often conflicts with what @SEC_Enforcement has said publicly. It’s worth a read to get more clarity on what may or may not be a security https://t.co/m5E9V0Pd18

Unfortunately none of the elements presented in this… https://t.co/iZ9Gn5SADK pic.twitter.com/kGHgsZkOaH

— Mark Cuban (@mcuban) June 11, 2023

While a step-by-step outline isn’t provided, the document does briefly explain what is required for firms pursuant to U.S. federal securities laws.

Among the requirements included the need to disclose all information necessary for investors to make “informed investment decisions” and other “essential managerial efforts” that impact the success of the enterprise.

Meanwhile, Cuban noted that other sectors in the finance industry are receiving much more transparency from the SEC. Rather than labeling “stock loans” as securities or suing brokers and banks, they’re engaging in a “comments process,” Cuban explained.

“They should do the same thing with crypto as an effort to determine which aspects of crypto are securities and which are not,” he added.

Here is the SEC calling the stock loan industry “opague” and requiring transparency. Note, they are not calling “stock loans” a security as they are trying to do with the loaning of crypto assets. Nor are they suing the Stock Loan Departments of brokers/banks. They are going… https://t.co/0gSjAuAkWS pic.twitter.com/GfWm3m1jOB

— Mark Cuban (@mcuban) June 9, 2023

U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis has also lashed out at the regulator for failing to provide a “robust legal framework” or at least offer “legal guidance” in some form for firms to comply with:

My statement on the SEC suing Coinbase, inc. https://t.co/5KNEM0IPSV pic.twitter.com/EgRIxrIcjj

— Senator Cynthia Lummis (@SenLummis) June 6, 2023

Last week, SEC Chair Gary Gensler claimed at the Global Exchange & Fintech Conference on June 8 that a registration process exists and that firms “know how to register.”

His comments were made in relation to Coinbase and Robinhood’s recent claims that they tried to register but the SEC rejected the attempt.

Related: SEC steps back from defining digital assets in new hedge fund rules

The SEC sued Binance on June 5 and Coinbase on June 6, alleging the exchanges broke various securities rules, most notably for purportedly offering cryptocurrencies that the regulator considers to be unregistered securities.

A total of 68 cryptocurrencies are now considered to be securities by the SEC.

Magazine: Crypto regulation: Does SEC Chair Gary Gensler have the final say?