Crypto Founder Explains New Token Is "Basically Just Money," Sends Regulator Into Existential Spiral
The SEC attorney reportedly asked "then why does it exist?" and did not return from lunch.
WASHINGTON — A routine hearing on the classification of a new digital asset took an unexpected turn Tuesday when the token's founder, asked to describe what it does, replied that it is "basically just money, like, you can buy things with it," prompting a senior enforcement attorney to sit in silence for 40 seconds and then request a recess.
The token, called Lumen, launched in July with a whitepaper describing it as "a decentralized medium of exchange for the next economy." Asked how it differs from the dollar, founder Devin Aroyo said it is "on chain," that it is "not controlled by anyone," and that its supply is "fixed, except when the foundation votes to change it, which we don't plan to, except the two times we did."
"So it's a currency," said the attorney, according to a transcript.
"It's a currency," Aroyo said.
"Issued by you."
"By the community. Which I founded. And chair."
"And people buy it with dollars."
"To have Lumen."
"To buy things."
"Eventually."
"What things?"
"Other tokens, mostly," Aroyo said. "And there's a hat."
The attorney, a 22-year veteran of financial regulation who has handled cases involving derivatives, structured products and one Ponzi scheme disguised as a church, was seen after the recess standing by a window, and was later heard asking a colleague whether the dollar is "also basically just money" and, if so, "what any of this is."
The commission said the hearing would resume next week and that the attorney is "taking some time." Aroyo said Lumen's price rose 30 percent on news of the hearing, which he described as "the utility."