SEC targets NFT market

The US SEC seems to target the NFT market recently. The regulator has been involved in the crypto world to prevent scams, Ponzi methods, and other senseless investments. However, many crypto fans claim that SEC is extremist with its measures.

NFT commerce made its debut in 2017 with the Ape monkey collection that promised to bring value to virtual pieces created by artists. In recent years, non-fungible fans can found pieces based on sports, gastronomy, art, music, and even video games.

By March 2021, the SEC subsidiary Crypto-Mom bought some NFT pieces to prove that trading was reliable if NFTs were under their guidance. The company manager clarifies how the tokens have a “non-fungible” categorization.

This shows that their price is individual between pieces. But Crypto-mom said that enthusiasts have been very proactive in posting their virtual pieces.

However, the SEC-managed company said that investors should exercise caution when owning virtual pieces. Some NFTs could be staggeringly priced depending on the artist or context it arrives in, while others might not be worth a dime.

SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce, known affectionately as “Crypto Mom” for her pro-crypto views, told CoinDesk TV in December that the SEC might soon be taking a closer look at NFTs.

“Given the breadth of the NFT landscape, certain pieces of it might fall within our jurisdiction,” Peirce said. “People need to be thinking about potential places where NFTs might run into the securities regulatory regime.”

Crypto-Mom, an agency linked to the SEC, talks in-depth about non-fungible trading and how the price of some pieces is segmented. The agency researched the latest auctions at Christie’s gallery, a priority for trade fans.

In previous months Christie’s had a great sale where it raised about $6 million for the auction of “Everydays: The First 5,000 Days.” Metakovan, an NFTs aficionado, reportedly purchased the photo album. It eventually emerged that Metakovan was just a middleman for Metapurse, an NFTs agency that launched its virtual auctions.

Metapurse stands out for being a prestigious NFTs buying/selling agency with million-dollar offers. Long before buying the Everyday artist’s collection, the website divided the “Beeple” auction valued at more than $6,000,000 to make the “Beeple #20” collection with the most representative pieces of the work, winning about $1.4 M.

Some researchers suggest this indicates that the sale of the Beeple collection gained more popularity with Metapurse and its resale than originally at Christie’s. Under this analysis, the SEC agency again requests that the collection be studied to discover if it is a good investment or a resale that will only benefit the company that publishes it.