An article published on Huffingpost seems to suggest that Ethereum Classic is a scam, and its moral backers (read Barry Silbert) must be prosecuted under the US laws for promoting it.
Penned by David Seaman, the follow-up article blames Silbert for promoting a pump-and-dump scheme, while referring to a series of tweets where the Bitcoin entrepreneur can be found inciting traders to purchase Ethereum Classic tokens (ETC). It even goes on seeking an enquiry against Silbert by none other than US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
It is to note that Silbert has already undergone an SEC enquiry over the promotion of “BIT-Shares”, the shares issued by his company Bitcoin Investment Trust. The Huffingpost author doesn’t shy away from mentioning it in one of his previous articles against Silbert.
The author, however, resorts to defame Ethereum Classic in order to validate his opinions. In his views, those who didn’t support Ethereum have started supporting Ethereum Classic, a version that is neither popular nor adequately backed like its twin. While the search for an ulterior motive continues, the parallels drawn between the promotion of BIT’s shares and Ethereum Classic is like comparing apples to oranges. BIT’s shares are derivatives whose value is connected to the value of another commodity – Bitcoin. Ethereum Classic, on the other hand, is an independent open source cryptocurrency. Also, when people invest in BIT, the primary benefactors will be the promoters of the company and regulatory issues come into the picture.
It is not illegal for an individual to promote Bitcoin, whereas promoting an investment scheme involving the digital currency may be illegal unless regulatory issues are addressed. The same holds good for the mainstream media as well. They are allowed to align themselves with either Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump. It won’t make anything illegal.
Even though the argument against Barry Silbert, in this case, seems to be weak, the unclear regulatory standards set for digital currency sector may lead SEC to find fault in this scenario, and penalize Silbert.
Disclaimer: The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of NewsBTC.
