Former anti-virus magnate John McAfee is attacking the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) again. McAfee let loose on Twitter this Thursday after Jay Clayton, the chairman of the SEC, stated that the SEC views cryptocurrencies as securities.
McAfee, who was once famous for his eponymous anti-virus software, has become a major proponent of cryptocurrency in the past few years. Driven by a libertarian politics that very much fits with the spirit of Bitcoin’s anonymous founder, Satoshi Nakamoto , McAfee seems particularly drawn to the fact that cryptocurrency operates outside of governmental grasp.
With an affliction for cryptocurrency and disdain for government, McAfee now appears to spend a significant proportion of his time posting cryptocurrency memes and anti-government vitriol on twitter.
His ire towards the SEC was on display last week for almost exactly the same reason as it was yesterday. During an interview with broadcaster CNBC, Clayton stated that Cryptocurrencies , with the exception of Bitcoin, are securities.
McAfee, who was in the midst of a ‘meme war’ on Twitter at the time, was enraged by this. He said that Clayton and the SEC should debate him and that, if they refused to do so, they should “back the f*** off.”
Deja Vu
The same scenario played itself out yesterday. Clayton gave a speech at an SEC public forum in which he said: “much of what I have seen in the ICO or token or ICO space, is a security offering… I don’t know how much more clear I can be about it.”
Meme posted by McAfee on his twitter account. Original picture by twitter account @tommyp408
McAfee, who had just finished posting the adjacent meme, was infuriated once again. “I will fight,” said McAfee, “with every last breath to ensure that this absurd overreach by the SEC will not stand!!”
Despite his Braveheart-esque response, it does appear that McAfee won’t be burning down the SEC’s Washington headquarters any time soon. He said that, at least for the moment, he will be “submitting...to this law.”
As wonderful as the ongoing tussle between the SEC and McAfee is to watch, there is more exciting news. McAfee is going to be announcing the winner of his meme competition in the next few days. This author is waiting with bated breath.
