The SEC has released a new statement about the status of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s investigation into the nature and scope of the security of the virtual currency called, “Bitcoin.” The SEC investigation has been looking into whether or not the virtual currency is a security under the securities laws of the United States. As a result, the SEC has now released a report that outlines its determination in this regard.
According to the SEC’s statement, the agency has determined that the virtual currency has a high degree of likelihood of being a security and has taken this into consideration when it issued the proposed rule on February 10, 2010. The SEC’s determination came after an extensive investigation into the security of the virtual currency. According to the SEC, it conducted research on three aspects of the security of the virtual currency: (1) the nature of the virtual currency, (2} the history of the virtual currency, and (3) the risks associated with the security.
The SEC concluded that the nature of the virtual currency was a security and the history of the virtual currency was a history of its use as a medium of exchange and not a history of its history as a commodity. In addition, according to the SEC, the risks associated with the virtual currency are not considered a significant risk to the value of the virtual currency and therefore, are not a significant security.
In addition, the SEC determined that the trading of the virtual currency was not a “leveraged” security under the provisions of the securities laws of the United States. This determination was based upon its determination that the trading of the virtual currency is not the result of an agreement between two parties and that the trading of the virtual currency is not conducted by a broker-dealer or an underwriter.
The SEC determined that it is the nature of the trading of the virtual currency that is a security. According to the SEC, the trading of the virtual currency is the result of the sale of the virtual currency to another person who is not a dealer.
Therefore, the SEC concludes that the nature of the trading of the virtual currency is not a leveraged security and that the trading of the virtual currency is not the result of an agreement between two parties. As such, the SEC’s determination is in compliance with the new definitions of the securities laws of the United States that came into effect with the amendments to the federal securities laws in May 2010. That the SEC adopted in response to the problems associated with the inadequacy of the regulatory framework for the regulation of the investment industry.
