It would help a potential investor determine if an investment option, is a security or It is a commodity before one gets to make the final call on the investment of choice.
The criteria includes;
* If it involves an investment of money,
* If there's an expectation of profit,
* If there's a common enterprise, and
* If there's a reliance on the effort of others.
90% of altcoin are security then with this definition because alot of them are being introduced to us through crowdfunding and it goes in favour of what a security is since we are expecting profits before buying into the crowdfunding. Bitcoin wasn't introduce through any prefunding mechanism and this is what makes it stand out. Security aren't what we should be investing into because the governments will eventually be coming after them one after the other and they will lose their value but the government can come after Bitcoin because it isn't a security but a commodity based on the definition although it is a currency and that's what we see it to be.
New Investors picking interest in the industry don't care about all that is written by the OP but as members of the forum and seeing this thread, I feel we should reconsider our decision before making any investments. There's a golden rule that I apply before any investments, if I don't know what I'm looking at, I don't buy them. Before making any investments we should do proper research to avoid losing our money to scammers because there are alot of them in the industry and they're looking for their next victim. They won't give you a break when you fall a prey due to you ignorance.