Consensys announced that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has notified the company that it will end its investigation into Ethereum 2.0. The SEC’s decision came after Consensys issued a request letter asking for clarification on whether Ether attributes approved in the Ethereum spot ETF were considered securities.
Consensys described this as a “major victory for the industry,” stating in a tweet that Ethereum has escaped SEC scrutiny, meaning the SEC will not charge ETH sales as securities transactions. The investigation into Ethereum’s status is significant, but it is not a panacea for many blockchain developers, technology providers, and industry participants who have suffered due to the SEC’s illegal and aggressive cryptocurrency enforcement.
Consensys received a Wells notice from the SEC on April 10 and decided to proactively sue the SEC, with the following demands:
– Declare in federal court that ETH is not a security.
– Confirm that MetaMask’s staking services do not violate securities laws.
– Assert that MetaMask is not a broker-dealer under federal law.
The lawsuit by Consensys is still ongoing, and FOX reporter Eleanor Terrett tweeted that the SEC has not yet formally charged Consensys for any violations related to MetaMask’s swap and staking features mentioned in the Wells notice, but charges may be forthcoming in the next few days or weeks.
Consensys also stated in the announcement:
“Our fight continues, and we will show in the lawsuit that the functionality provided by the MetaMask interface, such as Swaps and staking, does not violate securities laws and should not be subject to litigation to provide much-needed regulatory clarity.”