Michael Saylor: Ethereum, altcoins are unregistered crypto securities 

Bitcoin maxi Michael Saylor opined that several crypto altcoins, like Ethereum and Ripple, will not achieve institutional acceptance this decade. 

MicroStrategy Executive Chairman Michael Saylor told attendees of the annual Bitcoin (BTC) For Corporations event that Wall Street regulators view “everything down the stack” as unregistered crypto asset securities. 

“You could see the writing on the wall when the spot ETF of Bitcoin was approved in January. By the end of May, you’ll know that Ethereum is not going to be approved, and when Ethereum is not approved this summer, it’ll be very clear to everyone that ETH is deemed a crypto asset security, not a commodity.”

Michael Saylor, MicroStrategy Executive Chairman

Saylor also grouped other non-Bitcoin cryptocurrencies like Solana (SOL), Ripple (XRP), and Cardano (ADA) in the same unregistered crypto asset security bracket. 

Ethereum crackdown

The comments come as several spot Bitcoin ETF issuers have filed for similar products underpinned by Ethereum (ETH), crypto’s second-largest digital asset. In response, the SEC has delayed several spot ETH ETF filings from issuers like BlackRock, Fidelity, and Grayscale. 

Furthermore, the U.S. SEC deployed an ongoing crackdown on Ethereum and the broader crypto industry, as proponents argue that tokens like ETH fall outside the purview of existing securities laws. 

Recent reports citing a year-old document revealed that SEC Chair Gary Gensler has considered ETH to be a security since at least last year.

Spurred by ETH’s transition to a proof-of-work consensus, the SEC has issued a Wells notice to major ETH stakeholders such as Consensys and defi giants like Uniswap in an investigation.