Halloween marks the birthday of Satoshi Nakamoto’s Seminal Bitcoin Whitepapers, which was introduced on metzdowd.com’s cryptography mailing list on Oct. 31, 2008, at approximately 2:10 p.m. EST.
The Bitcoin whitepaper introduced Bitcoin to the world and eventually spawned a new digital economy with more than 13,000 cryptocurrency assets, estimated to be over $1 trillion. It opened the door for internet users to send and receive money worldwide on an open, decentralized, censorship resistance, and permissionless network.
With the whitepaper completing its 14 years, enthusiasm was observed in the crypto advocates like investors, community members, developers, and others celebrating this event across social media platforms but what came as a surprise was the tweet of Gary Gensler, chairperson of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Gensler wished the Bitcoin whitepaper a happy birthday in his tweet and appreciated its contribution to embracing innovation and crypto asset investing. He also commented that the combined goal is to ensure the protection and security in the interest of the investors. The commissioner’s tweet received a wide scaled reaction from people, i.e., more than 3000 comments and more than 8000 likes at the time of writing.
However, the reactions to the tweet varied, with a section appreciating Gensler’s gesture, whereas others considered it offensive. Out of the 3000 comments, some thanked the commissioner for appreciating Nakamoto’s seminal work, whereas some pointed out his not-so-friendly crypto nature. Some users also requested him to provide more clarity on crypto regulations whereas some reminded him he doesn’t have jurisdiction over the crypto industry as Congress has not granted him the authority.
Industry experts have often criticized Gensler’s enforcement-centric approach toward the crypto sector, investors, and crypto advocates. He has commented on the sector’s regulation, calling in a uniform rulebook and reiterating Bitcoin as a commodity, whereas most crypto tokens are securities.