Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson (찰스 호스킨슨) criticised new digital asset rules proposed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, arguing that if the standards are applied most crypto tokens could be classified as securities. XRP would not be an exception, he said.

On March 4, blockchain outlet The Crypto Basic reported that Hoskinson said in a recent podcast that some provisions of the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act being discussed in the U.S. Congress do not match reality. The core of the bill is to set standards for classifying digital assets as commodities.

Under the draft bill, a digital asset issuer must submit a formal petition to the SEC to have an asset recognised as a “digital commodity”. The SEC must in principle review an application within 60 days, but the review period can be extended if additional information is requested.

It also says a project must prove a certain level of decentralisation to obtain digital commodity status. In particular, if a specific entity in the network holds more than 20 percent of total supply, it may be deemed not to meet the decentralisation standard.

Hoskinson argued that if the standard is applied, XRP could also be classified as a security. Ripple holds about 33.6 billion XRP, or 33.6 percent, of a total issuance of 100 billion, well above the proposed 20 percent threshold.

He warned that the standard is overly simplistic and could also have a negative impact on proof-of-stake-based networks, including Cardano.

Hoskinson also predicted that if the rules are implemented, the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market capitalisation could be excluded from security classification. Smaller projects, by contrast, would likely need to prove decentralisation to secure digital commodity status. Ripple maintains that the new bill will not significantly affect XRP’s legal status, as a federal court ruling has already found that XRP is not a security.

Ripple is also taking a relatively positive stance on the bill itself. Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse (브래드 갈링하우스) said having a bill is better for the market than lacking a clear regulatory framework, and mentioned that the bill could be enacted into law next month.

Industry views are divided, including over rules related to stablecoin yields, and the bill is expected to face further discussions in the Senate Banking Committee.