A decentralized memecoin called NotWifGary (NWG) has been launched by a small community of members in response to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) increasing regulatory scrutiny of the cryptocurrency industry. The memecoin project is taking an anti-SEC and pro-Ethereum stance, aiming to support open-source developers and the wider Ethereum ecosystem.
NWG was created as a direct response to the heightened regulatory focus on the crypto industry, led by figures like SEC Chair Gary Gensler. Its creators believe that the regulatory pressure is unjust, and the memecoin is part of a movement to counter this.
One of the members of the NWG initiative, Marco Monaco, clarified that the project is completely separate from Linea and Consensys, despite his involvement with the zkEVM ecosystem Linea. Monaco emphasized that his involvement in NWG is purely personal and not in his official capacity.
The official NWG account posted on X (formerly Twitter) that the project will stand against Gary Gensler and the SEC, who they believe are unlawfully threatening digital property by attacking Ethereum and open-source developers.
NWG will be categorized as a CultureCoin and will be launched in a highly decentralized manner with a fair launch strategy. The original 12 project supporters, all publicly known, plan to deploy 100% of the token allocation in a liquidity pool.
The memecoin will be launched on Linea as an ERC20 token and will be managed through a multi-sig wallet involving the original project supporters. The liquidity pool for NWG will be bootstrapped through community donations to ensure decentralization and fairness. Donations will not entitle contributors to NWG tokens but will earn them the “NWG Launch Team” Soulbound Token (SBT).
In addition to the launch of NWG, there have been recent developments regarding the SEC’s actions. Democratic Representative Wiley Nickel commented on the SEC’s actions, stating that they are turning crypto into a “political football” and unnecessarily forcing President Biden to take sides. This comment was made after the proposed Staff Accounting Bulletin (SAB) 121 rule, which requires SEC-reporting entities to record custodial crypto as liabilities on their balance sheets.
There are also rumors that SEC Commissioner Caroline Crenshaw, known for her critical stance on Bitcoin and cryptocurrency, may lose her position on June 5. However, recent White House statements suggest that there are no immediate plans to fill her position. There are also rumors of SEC Chairman Gary Gensler potentially resigning, although this is believed to be unlikely during an election year.
Kraken, a cryptocurrency exchange, has urged the US court to dismiss the SEC’s claims that it operated an unregistered securities trading platform. Kraken argues that the SEC’s broad interpretation of its jurisdiction, particularly through the Howey test, would expand its authority beyond its intended limits and should be debated in Congress.
Overall, the launch of NWG and recent developments regarding the SEC’s actions highlight the growing tension between the cryptocurrency industry and regulatory bodies like the SEC.
