In his most recent Twitter post when asked by a follower which ICO will be the next big thing, John Mcafee’s reply was not one of advice, but of suppression. According to his comments, the SEC has made contact with the cyber security magnate and demanded he stops all work in conjunction with ICOs, including their promotion to his 800,000 strong Twitter fanbase. He also dejectedly remarked that ‘those doing ICOs can all look forward to arrest’; most likely in reaction to the recent comments from the SEC last week in Atlanta, that all ICOs continue to remain as securities offerings under strict US law.
The “Mcafee Effect” has been a widely coined term to describe the influential impact John Mcafee has in the virtual currency space, particularly in causing breakout bullish rallies from the coins he recommends.
On December 13th last year, he famously tweeted about the importance of privacy coins, adding that Monero (XMR), Verge (XVG) and Zcash (ZEC) are among those with ‘the greatest future’ ahead in the market. During that time Monero was around $237 and Zcash was over $300, while Verge was less than 1 cent, at $0.007. Taking advantage of the cheapest coin in the recommendation, the asset ballooned a massive 614% to $0.05 over the following 7 days, off the back of this ‘Mcafee effect’.
From there, his popularity in this space has continued to grow and benefit other coins from his imparted wisdom, including the most recent Docademic currency which enjoyed a 26% gain from his commendation.
Today’s news of these threats from the Commission however, could mean that we no longer see this Mcafee magic at work. As the SEC continues its campaign to control digital assets operating in the United States, it’s possible that we could see more of these threats made towards Mcafee as they try to snuff out an iconic leader in this space.
The feud between Mcafee and the SEC has been well documented in the recent media, following a flurry of tweets by the King of Crypto directed at the SEC’s Chairman, Jay Clayton. These comments include calling him out several times for a live debate on the current US security laws that currently weigh heavily on digital assets and initial coin offerings. Mcafee is no shrinking violet when it comes to standing up against federal agencies and has successfully rebutted an FBI security directive in previous discussions.
While his submission to the SECs latest threats have dampened the community’s spirit, he promises to return to his people with an ‘equivalent alternative’ later; assuming he has found a way to exploit a loophole in the SECs current regulatory framework.
This article appeared first on Cryptovest
