FX168 Financial News Agency (Asia Pacific) reported that NFT major exchange OpenSea confirmed on Wednesday (August 28) that it had received the "Wells Notice" from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which determined that NFTs were securities, causing the BLUR token to plummet 3.19% to $0.1622 in the Asian market on Thursday, and the Tensor (TNSR) token to plunge to $0.3228.
FX168 ial News Agency (Asia Pacific) reported that NFT major exchange OpenSea confirmed on Wednesday (August 28) that it had received the "Wells Notice" from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which determined that NFTs were securities, causing the BLUR token to plummet 3.19% to $0.1622 in the Asian market on Thursday, and the Tensor (TNSR) token to plunge to $0.3228.
Wells notices usually refer to notices issued to individuals or companies after the SEC's investigation, which means that the regulator believes that they may have violated securities laws.
Read more: Nasdaq files Nasdaq Bitcoin Index Options (XBTX) application with SEC
After submitting the notice, the SEC has 6 months to decide whether to file a lawsuit and take enforcement action, and companies that receive notices from the SEC also have the right to respond.
In response to this action, OpenSea CEO Devin said that they will not be afraid of power and will be ready to fight the SEC. He wrote: "We are shocked that the SEC has taken such actions against NFT creators and artists, but we are ready to fight for this battle."
"Cryptocurrency has long been the focus of the SEC, and companies such as Coinbase, Uniswap, and Robinhood have also been fighting the SEC," he continued.
At the same time, Davin also mentioned that NFT is essentially a creative commodity and cannot be identified as a security. He said: "Through actions against NFTs, the SEC will stifle innovation on a broader scale, hundreds of thousands of online artists and creative people will be at risk, and many of them are unable to protect themselves. NFTs are essentially creative commodities, including artworks, collectibles and so on."
Finally, Devin made a commitment to the cryptocurrency community that he would provide $5 million in funds to NFT artists and creators who received Wells' notice to cover the legal costs they may face.
He said: "It would be a terrible thing if creators stopped exploring digital art because of regulatory coercion. In addition to sticking to our position, we will also provide $5 million in funds to help creators who received Wells' notice pay legal fees. Every creator, big or small, should be able to innovate without fear."
Uniswap is the largest decentralized exchange (DEX) on Ethereum. It also received a Wells Notice from the SEC in April this year. When OpenSea received the same treatment, Uniswap CEO Hayden Adams also voiced his support on Twitter, saying that the SEC's actions were stupid and welcomed OpenSea to join the fight against the SEC.
"Welcome to join our fight. In the field of cryptocurrency, the SEC has issued a Wells Notice to your company, which means that you are a legal company developing important products in the United States. The SEC is a clown, and their actions represent their stupid position. They simply believe that digital art on the chain is a security."
Read more: SEC Issues Wells Notice Over NFT Listings But OpenSea is Ready to Defend NFT Community with $5 Million Legal Fund
Due to this action, it will directly affect "whether NFT is a security." Another NFT trading platform on Ethereum, Blur (BLUR), and the NFT market aggregator Tensor (TNSR) on the US blue-chip public chain Solana have both plunged and fallen.
Source: CoinMarketCap
Source: CoinMarketCap