The Hong Kong-based blockchain-gaming operator Animoca Brands will focus on ‘more progressive jurisdictions’ outside the United States, as the SEC labelled the SAND token an unregistered security. This was reported by SCMP.
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Co-founder Yat Siu said that the United States had adopted a ‘hostile’ approach to blockchain. The company has already ‘begun taking steps to focus more on other markets’.
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‘Animoca Brands is not focused on a single territory, but operates globally. The SEC is focused on the United States, so this should not affect our presence in other markets where SAND is widely available and accepted, including in more progressive jurisdictions such as Hong Kong and Japan,’ added Siu.
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In regulator lawsuits against Binance and Coinbase, the native token of the metaverse The Sandbox, developed by Animoca, allegedly raised $3 million through private sales on exchanges.
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According to the SEC, holders of the asset were compelled to reasonably regard SAND as an investment and to expect profits from the company’s efforts to develop the project.
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According to Padraig Walsh, a partner at law firm Tanner De Witt, the regulator’s charges significantly increase the legal risk for firms in the United States. However, he noted that litigation could take several years, so ‘great uncertainty’ will spur the flight of many companies.
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Even before the court cases began, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse stated that many crypto firms could move from the United States to ‘more progressive jurisdictions’ if local regulators continue the baseless pursuit. In his view, Europe, the UAE, the UK and Singapore offer greater regulatory clarity for digital assets.
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As investor Kevin O’Leary noted, the end of the ‘Wild West’ era for cryptocurrencies in the United States has arrived. In his view, regulator lawsuits against trading platforms will be remembered as a watershed moment in the industry, which will ultimately help the entire crypto market become ‘more environmentally friendly’.
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Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson also shared his views on the lawsuits. He believes that the SEC’s case against Binance is motivated by ‘political and philosophical disagreement’ between the agency and the very existence of cryptocurrencies.