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@ Alejandro
2023-08-13 00:40:36
> "The SEC told Coinbase that it views “every asset other than bitcoin” as a security and ordered the company to delist them from its website."
>
> — Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase
*Welcome to the latest issue of the Bitcoin For Families newsletter. This issue goes back to basics to explain why the SEC asked Coinbase to delist all the shitcoins.*
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# The SEC is a closet maxi
Before filing its suit against Coinbase, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) asked Coinbase to delist all cryptocurrencies from its exchange except for Bitcoin.
> Bitcoin is money. Shitcoins are investments.
> — The SEC, sort of
**The SEC is explicitly saying that Bitcoin is the only digital money out there.**
## Why only Bitcoin?
When you buy Bitcoin, you’re buying a commodity, just like gold or grain.
When you buy a shitcoin like Ethereum or Hex, you are buying a security, just like when you buy shares of a company.
What makes Bitcoin different?
**The founder of Bitcoin, Satoshi Nakamoto, did not assign himself a large share of Bitcoin before others could mine it**. He did not assign a large share of Bitcoin to venture capital firms investing in him and his team either.
Instead, he launched the project and invited everyone else to join him. Anyone in the world who was paying attention was able to join the network and mine Bitcoin with the same probability of success as Satoshi.
The founder of Ethereum, the blockchain that underpins most shitcoins, did the opposite. Ethereum is like a startup. Both its founders and the investors that back it are hoping to make big money by selling you Eth tokens.
**The founder of Bitcoin is anonymous**. We do not know who he is. He has not transacted with his Bitcoin since he disappeared in 2011. For all we know he could be dead. He is not setting directions or acting as the referee in disputes about what Bitcoin should or should not do.
The founder of Ethereum, Vitalik Buterin, has full control over the project:
[](https://twitter.com/VitalikButerin/status/1588669782471368704)
**Nobody has control over Bitcoin**. Bitcoin is open sourced and anyone can change the behaviour of the Bitcoin network. However, unless you convince 51% of Bitcoin node runners that the change is in their benefit as well, your change will go nowhere. The chances of convincing 51% of node operators is close to nil which is why people assert that no one can change Bitcoin.
Vitalik Buterin spearheaded the most important change in the Ethereum network in years: changing from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake validation.
Others have tried the same with Bitcoin and they failed.
## Shitcoins are not the crypto industry
Coinbase declined to delist everything other than Bitcoin because according to its CEO, “compliance with the order would have meant the end of the crypto industry in the US.”.
The reality is that the crypto industry is Bitcoin and its layer 2 projects like Lightning, Fedimint and the Liquid network.
The shitcoins call themselves crypto industry but they are just good old scams. They call themselves crypto to fool you into buying them.
If Coinbase had delisted all shitcoins, the crypto industry wouldn’t had died. It would had been cleared from all these parasites that hang to it and suck its energy and reputation.
Just consider how much more widely accepted Bitcoin would be if we didn’t have these regular scams, rug pulls and exchange collapses.
**The next time a someone tells you that the SEC is going after the crypto industry, say no, they are going after a bunch of scammers**.
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# Notable notes
nostr:note1rhuh2dmk9d86gllfqgls9vmj2dr3x0ch56va2rrgrt397mlmarjqrp43v2
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# Recommendations
## Matt Odell
Champion of freedom tech, free speech and humility.
You can follow him [here](nostr:npub1qny3tkh0acurzla8x3zy4nhrjz5zd8l9sy9jys09umwng00manysew95gx).
## Bitcoin Breakdown
Bitcoin Breakdown gives you the TLDR summaries of the biggest events in Bitcoin. It's a very effective way to stay up to date with the industry.
Check it out [here](https://magic.beehiiv.com/v1/cf402cd8-b88e-4e7e-87f6-47474ac9807d?email={{email}}&recommendation_id=06f7cb37-d4ea-4464-be11-a485dbbd196a).
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## What did you think of today's newsletter?
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Please leave a comment and checkout comments from other subscribers and readers. I love hearing from the Bitcoin For Families community ❤️ 🙏🏻
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See you again next week!
— Alejandro
This newsletter is for educational purposes. It does not represent financial advice. Do your own research before buying Bitcoin.