Expert at First SEC Crypto Roundtable: Bitcoin Neither Security Nor Investment

Lee Reiners, a visiting fellow at the Duke Financial Economics Center, defined Bitcoin based on its level of decentralization during the first-ever US SEC Crypto Task Force roundtable. The financial expert stated that Bitcoin is neither a security nor an investment contract.

LEE REINERS: “BITCOIN IS NOT A SECURITY, IT’S NOT AN INVESTMENT CONTRACT, BECAUSE IT IS SUFFICIENTLY DECENTRALIZED” https://t.co/vve5faEvlB pic.twitter.com/Dqc580OVwf

— The Wolf Of All Streets (@scottmelker) March 22, 2025

What Makes Bitcoin Unique in Terms of Decentralization?

According to Reiners, despite Bitcoin’s widely acknowledged extent of decentralization, it remains impossible to determine when a digital asset is “sufficiently decentralized.”

Referencing a CFTC report from last year, Reiners noted that digital assets decentralization exists across a spectrum of parameters, including governance, asset, user, application, data, network, protocol, and hardware. Reiners argued that it’s currently impossible to determine whether all these areas are decentralized enough so that profits do not come from the efforts of other users.

Related: SEC Abandons Coinbase Suit: Relief Rally for Cardano (ADA)—Price Analysis

The financial expert’s submission was only an aspect of the discussion at the SEC-Crypto roundtable, which is part of the US government’s efforts under the new administration and towards providing a tailored regulation for the crypto industry.

Main Focus of the SEC-Crypto Roundtable

Friday’s roundtable primarily focused on how US regulators can effectively apply existing securities laws to digital assets, especially considering the new administration’s stated intention to reshape the regulatory landscape for the crypto industry.

Apart from Lee Reiners, John Reed Stark, former chief of the SEC’s Office of Internet Enforcement, Miles Jennings, the general counsel for Andreessen Horowitz’s crypto arm, a16z, and former SEC Commissioner Troy Paredes attended the roundtable.

Roundtable Reflects President Trump’s Stated Crypto Agenda

The SEC-Crypto roundtable reflects President Trump’s stated crypto agenda, following promises made during his 2024 presidential campaign. Trump had indicated his intention to ease the industry crackdown seen under former president Joe Biden and to bring in a better-regulated ecosystem for cryptocurrency could thrive in the US.

Related: US SEC Shifts Crypto Enforcement Under New Trump Administration

Under the Biden administration, the SEC engaged in several high-profile court cases with crypto companies in what they perceived to be securities law violations. However, the commission’s new leadership has since agreed to withdraw or pause many of these cases as it works towards revising the overall regulatory environment for digital assets.

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