Crypto lawyer John Deaton issued a forecast in response to the news that the multinational financial corporation HSBC had acquired the patent for a virtual currency exchange.
He said that SEC head Gary Gensler would continue to prosecute exchange(s), alleging that the majority of the tokens are unregistered securities, and that this will cause the cryptocurrency market to plummet even more. Then, incumbent players will have the opportunity to buy in and get a greater stake, according to Deaton, who added that it’s possible that JPMorgan or Goldman Sachs may acquire portions of the Coinbase exchange.
Deaton added:
“I’ve been saying for a year that this was the plan. Once the market is at the bottom and the incumbents get a bigger piece, Gary and the SEC will come to the table and work out some form of guidelines or clarity.”
The fact that major financial institutions like Fidelity and HSBC have applied to trademark blockchain and cryptocurrency technology shows that they are here to stay. Deaton noted that Coinbase is worth less than $9 billion and has $5 billion in cash on hand. The attorney also said that he would not be shocked to see a takeover effort if Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong does not accept an incumbent partner.
At the beginning of 2022, the SEC almost doubled the size of its crypto-asset enforcement team, and it is quite probable that the agency will continue to control crypto assets via enforcement as we get into the new year.
In Gensler’s opinion, the vast majority of cryptocurrencies are securities, making their issuers and intermediaries subject to the same rules and regulations as traditional securities issuers and intermediates.
