Crypto News Daily: LBRY lost its court case against the SEC. What does it mean
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This week has been eventful in the Crypto space and it is just Tuesday! FTX bankrun is unfolding after the Twitter altercations between CZ, CEO of Binance and SBF of FTX. At the same time, another landmark event took place, that many might have missed it amid the general market crash.
LBRY, the video publishing platform lost its case against the SEC for being an unregistered security. The court case had been fought for around 5 years now. For many, LBRY was viewed as a small fish, without enough resources or muscle, and that is the reason why it was targeted by the SEC and lost.
The platforms announcement of the judge's decision was very laconic.
The federal judge in his decision argued that LBRY was a security as during the token sale there was no use case for the LBC token. This opens the Pandora box for other tokens or NFT projects to be labelled as securities if the SEC goes after them.
Furthermore, the court decision noted that the tokens sold were investment opportunities and that by retaining part of the LBC tokens itself LBRY signalled to potential token buyers that it would work to improve the value of its token and Blockchain. Thus, it would be profitable for buyers to hold the token.
The implications are wide and far ranging for the whole crypto industry. In principle, it will make it easier for SEC to label as securities pre-mined altcoins that launched their tokens through ICOs.
The court ruling might have an impact on the XRP (Ripple Labs) vs SEC case possibly featuring in the final decision. Ethereum could also be targeted as a security due to pre-mine ICO during its launch. Finally, it could put an end to the pattern of launching of utility tokens offered through ICOs that are not meaningfully decentralized.