Ethereum Co-Founder Calls SEC's Gary Gensler 'Shining Knight' Of Decentralization Despite 'Securities' Stance

Ethereum ETH/USD co-founder Joseph Lubin praised SEC Chair Gary Gensler, even though the latter had labeled all cryptocurrencies except Bitcoin BTC/USD  as "securities". 

What Happened: At the conclusion of ETHDenver on March 5, Lubin spoke candidly about recent regulatory enforcement actions and their impact on the development of decentralization. 

Lubin praised Gensler, who formerly headed the CFTC, saying he believes that the latter and the SEC are leading the charge in decentralizing "our vast ecosystem."

He even went as far as to say that Gensler is a “shining knight of decentralization."

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In a video posted on Tuesday by Digital Asset Investor’s YouTube channel, Lubin backed Gensler for halting Kraken's staking product and calling them “securities.”

Kraken settled with the SEC on Feb. 9, paying a $30 million penalty, in response to allegations that it had operated an unregistered security offering through its staking program.

Lubin said the exchange’s staking product was centralized, and therefore, a security offering. He added that despite claims of decentralization, the yield paid to stakers made it clear that Kraken was taking significant proactive steps, which suggests it isn't actually as decentralized as originally claimed.

“If you advertise that you’re a very decentralized thing in such a way that it sounds like people are going to make money based on your effort, just that language can make it a security,” Lubin added.

Price Action: At the time of writing, ETH was trading at $1,713, up 3.38% in the last 24 hours, according to Benzinga Pro.

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Photo by Third Way Think Tank on Flickr