Yes. It's pretty clear that forward looking NFTs are securities under US law, per the Howey test. The NFT community is in total denial about this.
The SEC is basically reactive. They wait until people complain about losing money in a scam. Then they bring the hammer down. This avoids complaints about over-regulation.
(A "forward looking NFT" is something like land in a virtual world that doesn't exist yet.
You're funding an enterprise run by others to build the thing. That's an investment contract, which the SEC regulates.
An NFT that represents "art" that exists at the moment of sale is probably just a collectable.)
By the way, none of this is new. See "Swampland in Florida" on Wikipedia for the 1950s version of the same concept.
That's true, except they have been enforcing and building the capabilities to enforce at a larger scale. They can enforce going back decades, are called in constantly to help other investigations and prosecutions, and are in no rush.
It's just like everything else, literally, and tax evasions only get media coverage under pretty limited circumstances.
Taxation in the space has always had a foregone conclusion that some have chosen to handwave or rationalize away. Not a bright strategy IMO.
If IRS only started tightening their grip in 2020... Their statements prior to 2020 didn't have any effect, yet.
I'm not saying "it's doom and gloom for crypto". I'm saying it's fair to claim things didn't fully play out yet.