The billionaire investor got stuck into a heated debate over crypto regulation with former U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) official John Reed Stark. On Twitter, Mark Cuban accused SEC’s Gary Gensler of throwing crypto under the bus. At the same time, a former SEC official was quick to come to the regulator’s defense.
In a spirited back-and-forth exchange on Twitter with former SEC officer John Reed Stark that started on June 14, Cuban took issue with Stark’s seeming defence of the SEC’s recent legal action against crypto exchange giant Binance.
Cuban accused Stark of misinterpreting the impact of the case and blamed SEC Chair Gary Gensler’s “regulation via litigation” approach for sabotaging crypto startups.
Stark had earlier argued that crypto-related businesses should be treated as “large enterprises” by regulators. However, Cuban argued that many crypto businesses are small and shouldn’t be told to “hire securities lawyers” just to get a start in the industry.
Stark also reiterated his support for the SEC’s actions against Binance, noting that the industry remains largely unregulated and that the move will eliminate “bad actors” and promote transparency.
From there, the debate pivoted to how best to regulate cryptocurrencies, with Stark pushing the line that crypto assets should not be treated as “pink sheets or stocks.”
Conversely, Cuban called Stark’s take biased, suggesting that tokens could be treated similarly to other securities and that the SEC should propose more straightforward guidelines.
Mark Cuban is a well-known American entrepreneur and investor. He first became involved in crypto in 2017, when he declared Bitcoin to be nothing more than a pyramid scheme. Over time, Cuban has become more supportive of digital assets and now appears to advocate for the industry.
John Reed Stark was previously chief of the SEC’s Office of Internet Enforcement. Stark is a moderate sceptic of crypto and provides a wide range of legal commentary on digital assets to his 21,000 followers on Twitter.
Ultimately, Cuban conceded that just like all early-internet companies, “90 per cent of blockchain companies” and “99 per cent of tokens” will go broke. Those that emerge victorious “will be game changers. That’s the way tech works,” he said.
Cuban wrapped things up with words of support for crypto, saying that no one could refute the potential impact of crypto in the broader economy.
He said “Crypto Derangement Syndrome” — his term for an irrational hatred of crypto — would have the same negative effect as those overhyping its potential.
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