US Congressman Defends Cryptocurrencies Against US Securities and Exchange Commission

US Congressman Richie Torres sent a letter U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Gary Gensler, in which he urged him to stop the “crusade” against cryptocurrency assets. Torres said that the SEC illegally and unprovenly declares all cryptocurrencies except bitcoin as securities and violates the principle of fair notice.

The reason for the letter was the decision of Judge Analisa Torres of the Southern District of New York, who dismissed the SEC lawsuit against Block.one, the developer of the EOS cryptocurrency. Judge Torres acknowledged that the SEC did not provide sufficient evidence that EOS is an investment contract that falls within the definition of a security under the Howey test. Judge Torres also emphasized that crypto assets are not securities in themselves, but only if they were sold as part of investment contracts.

Torres called the decision “significant” and “long overdue”, and suggested calling it the Torres Doctrine. He also accused the SEC of not issuing any rules or guidelines to regulate crypto assets, but only creating confusion and uncertainty in the market. He urged Gensler to respect the legal authority of Judge Torres and to abandon further attempts to regulate crypto assets as securities.

“The crypto industry deserves clarity and justice, not arbitrariness and intimidation. I urge you to stop your reckless attack on crypto assets and start a constructive dialogue with stakeholders,” concluded Torres.

Ritchie Torres is an American politician from New York, United States Representative from New York’s 15th district, which covers most of the South Bronx. He is a member of the Democratic Party and one of the co-chairs of the Congressional Caucus on LGBTQ+ Equality. He is also the first openly gay African American elected to Congress, as well as one of the first openly gay African Americans elected to Congress.

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