Amanda Tuminelli, Chief Legal Officer of the DeFi Education Fund, dives into the SEC’s contentious stance on cryptocurrency airdrops. She argues that the SEC's definition of ‘compensation’ is stretched too far, complicating compliance for crypto projects. Tuminelli discusses ongoing litigation, the SEC’s evolving language on crypto assets, and the potential need for congressional or Supreme Court intervention. She also highlights questions Congress may pose to SEC Chair Gary Gensler regarding clarity in airdrop regulations. It's a legal labyrinth in the making!
35:01
forum Ask episode
web_stories AI Snips
view_agenda Chapters
auto_awesome Transcript
info_circle Episode notes
insights INSIGHT
Airdrops as Securities
The SEC argues that even free airdrops can be securities offerings.
Their reasoning is that promotional activities performed to receive the airdrop count as "investment of money."
question_answer ANECDOTE
DeFi Education Fund Lawsuit
The DeFi Education Fund sued the SEC, challenging their stance on airdrops.
Their case involves BEBA, a company that airdropped tokens for discounts on merchandise.
insights INSIGHT
Clarity vs. Correctness
The SEC's position on airdrops, while clear, is incorrect, according to Amanda Tuminelli.
She argues "investment of money" must involve actual money, not promotional work.
Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode
This week, Republican Representatives Tom Emmer and Patrick McHenry sent a letter pressing SEC Chair Gary Gensler for clarity on how securities laws apply to airdrops.
With billions of dollars worth of tokens airdropped this year alone, projects need clarity more than ever.
In this episode, Amanda Tuminelli, Chief Legal Officer of the DeFi Education Fund, dissects the SEC’s stance on airdrops, why her organization believes the SEC has stretched the legal definition of “compensation” too far, and what Congress might ask Gensler in his upcoming hearing.
Plus, she talks about how the SEC “regrets” any confusion it caused for using the term “crypto assets securities,” since the agency now admits that tokens themselves are not securities.
Show highlights:
Why Amanda believes the SEC’s position on airdrops doesn’t make sense
Why the DeFi Education Fund sued the SEC over the BEBA airdrop
How the SEC’s position on airdrops has been clear for a while, but is “wrong” according to Amanda
Her take on users bypassing the geographic restrictions to claim airdrops in the U.S.
How and why the SEC has changed its language around “crypto assets securities”
How the SEC’s new position on crypto assets implicating securities laws seems to rest on the “embodiment” theory
Why Amanda believes the Supreme Court or Congress may be needed to step in
What Amanda expects Congress to question Gary Gensler about in the hearing next week
Amanda’s takeaways from the first Congressional DeFi hearing last week
How she expects the presidential election will impact the regulatory landscape in the U.S.
Visit our website for breaking news, analysis, op-eds, articles to learn about crypto, and much more: unchainedcrypto.com
Unchained