They range from the brainchild of a winner of computer science’s most prestigious award to a crypto token supporting the biggest blockchain-based video game. But they all have one thing in common, according to the US Securities and Exchange Commission: They are all securities.
That designation of 19 tokens, laid out in SEC lawsuits against crypto exchanges Binance and Coinbase Global Inc. last week, was perceived as so potentially damaging that it caused a sharp selloff. Their combined market value has slumped by about $23 billion since just before the SEC’s lawsuit against Binance was filed on June 5. Robinhood Markets Inc. removed three of the coins from its crypto trading platform and eToro stopped allowing US clients to open positions in some of them.
Below is a rundown of the 19 tokens, who’s behind them, what blockchains they operate on, and how their prices have been impacted by the SEC labeling them securities.
Source: The Tainted 19: The Digital Tokens the SEC Says Are Securities