SEC flags Bitcoin miner hosting services as subject to securities laws
The SEC sued VBit, alleging its hosted Bitcoin mining agreements are securities under the Howey test due to passive income expectations.Summary
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has asserted in a lawsuit against Bitcoin mining company VBit and its founder, Danh Vo, that certain third-party hosted Bitcoin mining services constitute securities offerings. The SEC claims VBit's Hosting Agreements meet the criteria of the Howey test because investors expected passive income and relied exclusively on VBit's efforts, noting VBit retained full operational control and directed hashrate into a controlled mining pool. However, an industry executive, Mitchell Askew of Blockware Intelligence, strongly disagrees, stating that legitimate hosted Bitcoin mining—where a client simply purchases hardware and electricity without capital pooling or profit-sharing—does not resemble an investment contract and should not be affected by the SEC's theory.
(Source：Cointelegraph)