Is it necessarily a contradiction for someone to like what, in general, gives Bitcoin its censorship resistant, regulatory arbitraging properties when it is applied to certain areas, but also for them to be in support of trying to regulate its use in other areas, where, say, people are using it to avoid regulations to make running scams easier? I mean, it's clearly the case that once you have actual names attached to something, like many of these ICOs, that just because the Bitcoin (or Ethereum) system can't easily be shut down doesn't mean anything in terms of protecting known ICO scam creators from being put in jail. I don't see pointing that out and supporting that as "ratting out on all of us".
Just because bitcoins can be used by scammers (or even terrorists) doesn't necessitate that we should be against bitcoin, but it *also* doesn't necessitate that we should be against trying to stop scammers (or terrorists) that use bitcoin. Chris knows that the SEC can't stop Bitcoin, but he also knows that they very well could stop a number of these ICO scams.
This is the most important sentence imo.
I agree that most of these ICOs are having head figures which could be easily arrested. And I would say that 80-90% deserve it as these are mostly scams. And they know that it. They also know they are breaking the law as the token has more the function of a share then being used as a piece of software.
With or without Chris' letter I'm sure sooner or later the authorities will step in.
Bitcoin don't need SEC's protection, nor do people. Bitcoin itself is against any regulation, why would we need SEC's help?
Let them get burned with shitcoins and their ico's. And if they get bigger than bitcoin? Who cares. SEC is not stupid (hopefully), they see everything and already marked all the ICO creators probably.
When people get burned by those scams, they'll be crying and asking for the government's help anyway. We don't have to do anything.
When the time comes, nobody will able to run because everything is recorded by the authorities already.
The only crypto currency which has an anonymous creator and has mass support from the people who are confident to invest in, is bitcoin.
Every other ICO/Shitcoin has a CEO out there in the open as a target. ETH for example:
What will happen to ETH when the US suddenly declares Vitalik Buterin as the enemy of the State? It will collapse in a flash.
and if they try to do it with bitcoin... Who'll be getting arrested as the creator of Bitcoin? No-one.