Economist and gold advocate Peter Schiff has sounded the alarm about the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) potentially changing the definition of a “security.” He cautioned: “Now that the U.S. Appeals Court has upheld the SEC’s authority to unilaterally change the definition of a ‘dealer,’ I expect lots of private investors to be retroactively fined for not being registered.”
Peter Schiff Warns SEC Could Change Definition of 'Security' — Expects Lots of Investors to Be Retroactively Fined
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Peter Schiff’s Warning About SEC
Economist and gold bug Peter Schiff has raised concerns after a recent U.S. Appeals Court decision upheld the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)’s authority to redefine the term “dealer” in specific rules. This decision sparks questions about the agency’s future reach and potential impact on investors.
Schiff wrote on social media platform X Saturday:
Now that the U.S. Appeals Court has upheld the SEC’s authority to unilaterally change the definition of a ‘dealer,’ I expect lots of private investors to be retroactively fined for not being registered. This also opens the door for the SEC to change the definition of ‘security.’
The SEC adopted rules to “include certain significant market participants as ‘dealers’” earlier this month. “I am pleased to support this adoption because it requires that firms that act like dealers register with the Commission as dealers,” SEC Chair Gary Gensler said.
However, experts have warned about the implication of the revised dealer definition on the crypto industry, particularly on decentralized finance ( defi) projects. Blockchain Association Head of Legal Marisa Coppel cautioned: “The revised ‘dealer’ definition imposes impossible requirements onto defi projects, provides no clarity to market participants, and could lead to withering innovation across the digital asset ecosystem.”
Commenting on the SEC revising the definition of a dealer, Schiff opined on X on Feb. 6: “How can the SEC, a government agency, on its own change the definition of a ‘security dealer,’ so that it can regulate something that is not actually a security dealer, without any law having been passed to authorize such regulation? We are a nation of laws, not bureaucrats.” The gold bug added:
This is SEC overreach. They can not change the definition of ‘security dealer’ to regulate that which Congress has not authorized them to regulate. Plus, it’s all unconstitutional anyway. The result will be higher trading costs and reduced liquidity.
Do you agree with Peter Schiff about the SEC and do you think the agency will change the definition of a security? Let us know in the comments section below.
