Outspoken crypto-proxy, gun lover and potential US presidential candidate for 2020, John McAfee, urged the SEC to launch a live debate on national television about SEC statements by SEC chairman Jay Clayton regarding the regulatory status of cryptocurrencies.

The SEC believes that cryptocurrencies such as Ripple, Ethereum, IOTA & Co., if funded through an ICO, are securities. McAfee, Clayton told on Twitter earlier this week to discuss the cryptocurrencies on CNN.

McAfee launches offensive

The recent classification of all ICOs as securities by the SEC chairman triggered the following tweet:

The SEC’s official view on cryptocurrencies appears to be shifting towards a position that could potentially lead to the implementation of stringent regulatory measures.

“The time has come to separate money from the state, and for the first time the tools are available.”

McAfee turned directly to the SEC and called on the regulator to launch a debate on national television, much like the debate between McAfee and former FBI officer Steve Rogers in 2016, which focused on privacy:

What would be the consequences of a security rating?

While cryptocurrency and blockchain are generally of a decentralized nature, government classification can lead to far-reaching problems. Using the current approach of the SEC means that cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum, EOS, IOTA, Ripple and many more are considered securities.

The consequence would be that only stock exchanges with a corresponding license are allowed to trade with them. In addition, the question is how the projects themselves would have to deal with this classification. Does this mean one would equate with a stock corporation and have to meet all legal requirements, so that the decentralized currencies would be almost completely centralized by a decision of the SEC? So far there is no clear statement as to what a concrete classification could look like.

Bitcoin, however, is exempted from a securities classification, because even the SEC recognizes that Bitcoin is a direct competitor of a Fiat currency and was not issued as a financing measure.

What would a McAfee Vs. SEC debate Bring about?

The impact of a debate between McAfee and the SEC could be interesting — the FBI dropped calls for an iPhone backdoor in 2016 as a direct result of the conflict. Since the end of 2017, the US Securities and Exchange Commission is demanding more and more control over cryptocurrencies and crypto exchanges.

A debate between McAfee would not only jeopardize the essence of the recent SEC statements, but also highlight the importance of the ongoing debate on crypto regulation and bring a number of important issues to the forefront of public opinion. McAfee reiterated the importance of this issue:

“The SEC has turned the law into its own purpose. If they are not stopped, if no legal challenge is initiated, then the entire free crypto market and our fundamental right to create or choose currency as we like will be destroyed.“

Regardless of the outcome of a debate between the SEC and McAfee, we will likely see much more about McAfee and its open views on the implementation of blockchain technology — McAfee will again run for president of the United States in 2020, possibly creating his own party: