Altcoins worth $100 billion dropped in hot water after U.S. lawsuits against Binance and Coinbase

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed lawsuits against two of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, Binance and Coinbase. The lawsuits allege that the exchanges have failed to register their tokens as securities, which could have a significant impact on the altcoin market.

The SEC’s definition of a security is broad and includes any investment contract. This means that any token that offers the holder the expectation of profits could be considered a security. The SEC has already taken action against a number of smaller cryptocurrency projects, and the lawsuits against Binance and Coinbase could open the door to more enforcement actions.

The altcoin market has already taken a hit in the wake of the SEC’s lawsuits. The total market capitalization of altcoins has fallen by over $100 billion since the lawsuits were filed. Some of the biggest altcoins, including XRP, EOS, and Tether, have lost over 50% of their value.

The SEC’s actions could have a chilling effect on the altcoin market. If developers and investors are worried about the possibility of being sued by the SEC, they may be less likely to launch new projects or invest in existing ones. This could slow down the growth of the altcoin market and make it more difficult for new projects to gain traction.

The SEC’s lawsuits against Binance and Coinbase are a major development in the cryptocurrency space. It remains to be seen how the courts will rule on these cases, but the outcome could have a significant impact on the altcoin market.

Here are some of the altcoins that have been most affected by the SEC’s actions:

XRP: XRP is the native token of the Ripple network. It is the third-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, but it has lost over 50% of its value since the SEC’s lawsuits were filed.
EOS: EOS is a blockchain platform that is designed to compete with Ethereum. It is the sixth-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, but it has lost over 40% of its value since the SEC’s lawsuits were filed.
Tether: Tether is a stablecoin that is pegged to the U.S. dollar. It is the fourth-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, but it has lost over 30% of its value since the SEC’s lawsuits were filed.