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0 pointsrunbathtime4y ago0 comments

Here is a good article. https://www.investopedia.com/terms/f/financialasset.asp

Bank deposits are financial assets- which gets its value from a contractual right or ownership claim.

When you deposit money in a bank, they lend that money out, they make a return, and in a sane world you would receive interest on that money.

Using this definition of a financial asset, I don't think bitcoin qualifies, it is more of an intangible. It might be a financial asset only if it is held at a custodian.

Congress and the courts decide what a security is, not the SEC. The SEC is the enforcement agency from what I can tell.

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modeless4y ago

Congress defines a security, and the SEC interprets the definition, and the courts subsequently interpret it if the SEC sues. Congress has made a definition that does not apply to Bitcoin, and the SEC has interpreted the definition to not apply to Bitcoin. It hasn't come up in court, and it won't unless the SEC changes their minds first. But their arguments are sound and it's extremely unlikely that their interpretation could change, or that a court would agree with them if they did change.

It's also unlikely that Congress would change the existing definition to apply to Bitcoin. It's much more likely that they would pass specific regulations for Bitcoin and cryptocurrency.

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