Crypto Chaos: SEC’s Token Buyback Blunder 🚨💰

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Key Takeaways

What’s behind the pushback against former SEC execs?

They’ve been politely (or not) informing everyone that crypto wasn’t exactly playing by the rules back in 2017. Surprise, surprise! 🙄

What’s the status of token buybacks?

While they’re making token holders feel like millionaires (sort of), as of now, no one in the SEC has officially labeled token buybacks or burns. It’s like a game of regulatory hide-and-seek. 🕵️‍♂️

Armanda Fischer, former SEC Chief of Staff, has sparked quite the kerfuffle with her hot take on token buybacks. According to her, buybacks via DAOs (decentralized autonomous organizations) like Uniswap [UNI] could be classified as securities transactions, referencing a 2017 SEC guidance. 🤔

She added, with a sprinkle of drama,

“FYI: the crypto market structure legislation being contemplated by Congress & supported by the big crypto players generally would not allow token dividends/buybacks.”

However, crypto lawyers, including former U.S. Senatorial candidate John Deaton, have practically thrown a pie in her face. Deaton pointed out that the SEC’s 2017 directive was followed by 57 enforcement actions. Ouch. 🥧

But wait, there’s more! Clearer guidance came in 2019 under former Chair Jay Clayton and more recently, under the Paul Atkins regime, suggesting most tokens aren’t securities. Phew. 😅

Deaton also noted that Amanda Fischer advised the Biden-SEC to sue Ripple Labs, but XRP was eventually cleared as a non-security. Judge Analisa Torres backed this up. 🎉

He added, with a dash of sass,

“Here’s my response to Amanda, Gary Gensler, Jorge Tenreiro, and the rest of the old crew at the SEC: Shame on you…Take the loss with class.”

What’s next for token buybacks?

All the Biden-era SEC crypto enforcement actions were rolled back under the Trump administration. Only the secondary sale of XRP to institutional investors was deemed a securities transaction, but the token itself was classified as a non-security. Confused yet? 🤯

Which begs the question – Are token buybacks really a securities transaction as Fischer claims? Or is she just stirring the pot? 🥘

Hyperliquid [HYPE], Pumpfun [PUMP], Aave [AAVE], Lido [LDO], and recently Uniswap [UNI] have doubled down on token buybacks to boost token holders’ value accrual. 💸

Whether this ‘value accrual for token holders’ constitutes a securities transaction remains to be determined by the regulator. As of now, the SEC hasn’t officially weighed in. 🕰️

In fact, Hayden Adams, Uniswap CEO, mentioned that the buyback move was only made because of the current pro-crypto SEC regime. 🎯

Other crypto lawyers, including former Uniswap CIO Marvin Ammori, also took a jab at Fischer’s position. Ammori quipped,

“If the law was so clear, why did her SEC lose so many cases in court?”

By and large, the SEC’s treatment of crypto tokens has evolved since 2017. And, some instructions are about to be codified into law via the market structure bill. 📜

However, only a formal regulatory directive on token buybacks could clarify whether they constitute securities transactions or not. Until then, the crypto world remains a delightful mess. 🤷‍♂️

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2025-11-17 09:25