Steem wasn't an ICO, so it is safe from SEC regulations...or so I thought

I was considering going all in on Steem because it is a mined coin, and there was no ICO.
With ICOs being outlawed in several countries I thought Steem could be a safe haven, just as Bitcoin and other PoW coins.
However today I bumped into this thread by @anonymint
https://steemit.com/cryptocurrency/@anonymint/are-most-cryptocurrencies-doomed-to-collapse-because-they-re-ico-issued
He claims that even Steem could be considered an ICO by the SEC as the mining was "obfuscated" and "non competitive" and therefore effectively it became a "disguised coin offering" :
I actually saw the original Steem Bitcointalk Announcement at the time and I personally couldn't mine it as there was no Windows client.
It was certainly a barrier to entry, but there is always a barrier to entry when it comes to mining, cryptocurrency and technology in general. Who is to decide what constitutes an acceptable barrier to entry? Some people obviously were able to mine it and the announcement was public. So in my view it was, though borderline, a legit PoW launch.
Is @anonymint just FUDding or he has a point? I hope Steem Inc is legally prepared and even considering moving HQ to a country with less regulations. Steem's release was prior to any clear SEC guidance release, so that's another mitigating circumstance in my opinion. I'll still be investing in Steem though maybe not as heavily as I was intending.
What's your take on it?