SEC drops its investigation into Ethereum
Prominent Ethereum contributor Consensys revealed on a late Tuesday that the inquiry by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission into the digital currency is being concluded.
This indicates that the SEC does not intend to pursue any actions claiming that the selling of ETH constitutes securities transactions.
Following the SEC’s endorsement of Ethereum-based spot ETFs the previous month, Consensys dispatched a communiqué to the SEC highlighting that these funds are “based on ETH being recognized as a commodity,” and inquired about the impact of this acknowledgment on the ongoing investigation.
In April, Consensys aggressively initiated legal action against the SEC, alleging that the regulatory body intended to “dominate the destiny of digital currencies" and was poised to classify Ethereum as a security. Indeed, details from the lawsuit without redactions suggested that Consensys accused the SEC of having internally resolved Ethereum’s status a year before.
The trigger for the lawsuit was a Wells Notice—indicating impending regulatory scrutiny—that Consensys acknowledged having received concerning its widely used MetaMask wallet.
Consensys affirmed on Tuesday its intention to continue its legal battle against the SEC.
While welcoming the SEC’s decision to retreat, the firm persistently critiqued the regulator's stance towards cryptocurrency regulation.
