We can expect many more efforts to regulate crypto-currencies, but the market always finds a way to handle regulation one way or another. In the end, I'm convinced that crypto-currencies will survive.

I don't agree with the SEC ruling that crypto-currencies are securities. They do not represen partial ownership in a company or other asset. Instead, they are the first form of money that has originated with no other use. The U.S. dollar, for example, began as 1/20th of an ounce of gold.

Nonetheless, the classification of crypto-currencies as securities does have another bright spot that the article does not mention. If they are securities then they can not be money. I'm no tax expert but, as I see it, this means that they can not be subject to income taxes.

If an employer pays an employee or contractor in crypto, the SEC logic would dictate that the recipient would not owe any tax until and unless they exchanged the crypto for dollars at a profit. At that point, they would be subject to a capital gains tax. If the recipient exchanged the crypto directly for goods or services, there would be no tax owed.