Daily: Upcoming SEC discussion / Huobi's $1B Fund

Hey guys today is Monday May 7th 2018 and do you know what day that is? Today is the day that the SEC and the CFTC is going to meet up to discuss Ethereum the smart contract platform itself and security or not. So that's going to happen today and I want to say that this video is made before this hearing so we're going to discuss the kind of events leading up to this and what significance it has for the future of cryptocurrency in general because it's going to play a huge major role if decisions are made either way. We also have news coming out of China basically Huobi is starting up a 1 billion dollar blockchain fund and if you've been watching the HBO series Silicon Valley they've been talking about cryptocurrencies a lot in fact they've been talking about the new new internet and defending blockchain and even talking about Bitcoin mining on a regular basis on the show and it really goes to show how much cryptocurrency has infiltrated the public mindset. So everything and more on today's box mining daily I do want to say that everything covered here is my personal opinion and not financial advice. So let's start off with a mini market recap. So we have cryptocurrencies going down a little bit gradually over this weekend and this is very prominent with something like Ethereum or Ripple or Bitcoin cash and this most likely is because of the upcoming hearing with the SEC and CFTC regarding Ethereum status. Is it a security or not? So what is quite clear today is that there is quite a bit of red with kind of the fear and uncertainty and doubt coming from this hearing. But what I do know is that once this fear comes sides once the event passes and this is this case with the whole China FUD as well when China was about to ban cryptocurrencies it was all in the red. But the moment they announced the ban ironically everything was positive again. So this is how much fear affects the market. People are more affected by fear, the fear of upcoming news than sometimes the news itself. So let's start off with what's happening right now. What's this whole debate all about? Well it was reported around a week ago by the Wall Street Journal that the SEC and the CFTC they're going to look at Ethereum again. So this is something that was a little bit unexpected by the community overall because they've been talking about different ICOs that were running on Ethereum but now they're going to look back at Ethereum itself because Ethereum itself had an ICO back all the way in 2014 and they're going to try to decide if it's a security or not. So this is something that's really been going on for like four years now and it does seem a little bit slow on a slow side if it's four years later you're trying to decide if it's a security or not. But I do see the murkiness of the legal legislation behind this. The reason for this is because this is really an unshared chartered territory. It's a whole new gray zone and and there are elements that maybe could be argued for a security and are elements that could be argued against and this is why they're meeting up to discuss it. So we have someone like Joseph Lubin who is an early backer of Ethereum and he said you know what we spend in tremendous of time with lawyers in the US and other countries and we're extremely comfortable with the fact that it's not a security. It never was a security. So there's one view on this and we also have other people coming in and say well maybe because they had a public offering and this is something that was stated during the hearing that last time where Clayton was talking about well if it has a public offering and engages the public that might be a trait that could lead to the classification of a security. So this is why we have so many reverse ICOs where it's mostly just done in public sales right now because people are worried about a public ICO. Well with Ethereum they definitely did have a public ICO and there's one major element as well but perhaps could lead it to be more of a security which is that it's moving to proof of stake very soon. So if you stake Ethereum you can earn more Ethereum. But on the other hand Bitcoin itself is not a security. It's used as a commodity and it's been traded by the CFTC. So right now it just really goes to show that this is a legal gray area in the United States and there is well need to discuss this. So in terms of what's going to happen with discussion it's a little bit murky. So this was reported by the Wall Street Journal that the SEC is meeting up. But if you look at the events that they planned out the public events at least they don't have it on the schedule. So you don't see a meeting that's going to be public. So it might be discussed behind closed doors. And in terms of the research I've done to find out exactly when it's going to happen and what announcements going to come up. Well that's not very clear as well. So my take on this is it's most likely going to be discussed behind closed doors by the SEC and the CFTC to see what the future is going to be like. But that being said America is not the only country in all this. See cryptocurrencies is very global right now. And the way it's classified and the way the technology pushes forward depends on a country by country basis. And even if it's within a country everything is very different. So lately we saw the China crypto craze. And I do want to say that this is just one of the reports coming out of China where there's a $1 billion blockchain fund by Huobi. Well I can tell you there's way more going on in China. I'll do a more detailed report on it. But I can tell you that investments and interest in cryptocurrency in China is huge. Despite the fact that IPOs were banned in China and cryptocurrency trading has mostly stopped there. There's a lot of interest in blockchain technology there. And also a lot of the... It's kind of this case where crypto can't be stopped. The moment that this technology is made and announced to the world. It's really hard to put it back in the box again because of the decentralized nature of it. It's definitely the case that there are people in China buying cryptocurrencies a little bit on the OTC front. So not on exchange but over WeChat or maybe even Telegram if they can access it over the VPN. And of course there are incubators funds being set up. And the fact that this Huobi fund is public goes to show how bullish they are on the future of cryptocurrencies. Lastly I just want to talk about this. Like recently on Silicon Valley they've been talking about cryptocurrencies a lot. We got Guilfoyle mining cryptocurrencies in the office. And we got just general talk about them defending crypto. And there's more and more general ways for people to talk about it. And I think this is a very healthy way to go forward. I think we just can't just rely on something like CNBC or CNN just talking about cryptocurrencies and just talking about its bubble or not a bubble. We need to talk about the applications of this going forward. And I feel like it's cool that TV shows like Silicon Valley are kind of explaining the idea of decentralization. Why it's important. In fact, this whole new season is about this new new internet, which I kind of thought was very similar to a new kind of network and KN which I had an interview with. The fact that they're trying to rebuild the internet and a way to internet routes. In terms of Korea as well, we've seen a gradual easing up to cryptocurrencies and even potentially allowing ICOs in the future. And this has been constantly reported over news. So as an update, there seems to be a new legislation that's coming through to potentially allow ICOs done locally and held locally in South Korea. Before ICOs, local ICOs were not possible. But this kind of changing attitude, this change in realizing that, well, crypto isn't a scam, but it's a very different way to look at things and how to nurture and how to grow it properly has now become a major source of discussion. So it does seem like the tides are changing in South Korea and across the world as well. So I feel like right now we have to look at crypto as a global movement. We have to see every country in its different ways to treating it. But one thing that is for sure is that the country that's more open to cryptocurrency, for example, Malta, they allow Binance to go on board and to really nurture development there. They're going to stand a very big advantage when it comes to the future when it comes to growing a crypto or a blockchain hub. So, guys, what do you think is going to happen with this whole legislation thing with the SEC? Do you think that there is a risk that Ethereum is going to be classified as a security? Because if that is the case, then trading it will be relatively hard and Americans getting access to it because the fact that if it's classified as a security, then it needs to be listed on a securities exchange. So it will really disrupt how Americans can even access to Ethereum. So what do you guys think of this whole situation? Leave a comment below. I'd love to hear what you guys have to say. Thank you so much for watching this episode. See you guys next time.