Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by elmar 3116 days ago
> 1. It is an investment of money 2. There is an expectation of profits from the investment 3. The investment of money is in a common enterprise 4. Any profit comes from the efforts of a promoter or third party

------------

Using the "Howey Test" on Bitcoin you find that Bitcoin and almost all other cryptocurrencies should be considered securities.

  1. It is an investment of money 
yes, electricity and hardware are equivalent to money

  2. There is an expectation of profits from the investment  
yes

  3. The investment of money is in a common enterprise   
yes

  4. Any profit comes from the efforts of a promoter or third party.
yes, from Satoshi the original promoter and all subsequent miners.
2 comments

Fails on (2). The only reason you expect to profit is you think (without rationale) that the value of the coins will increase. That’s pure speculation.
You fail on number one I'm afraid, and go down from there. 1. By that rationale, buying baseball cards is buying a security. Maybe if you were the ISSUER of the cards, you'd have a point. But even then, it's tenuous. Maybe if they were selling pre-release cards? 2. So baseball card buyers are buying securities? 3. Where is this supposed bitcoin enterprise? 4. Where can I buy these coins from satoshi?