Key Points:
- The SEC concluded its 14-month investigation into Ethereum, which Consensys founder Joseph Lubin sees as a positive but inadequate regulatory move.
- Consensys SEC lawsuit will continue to seek clearer regulatory guidelines and accuse the agency of overreach in trying to classify ETH as security.
- The closure of the investigation is seen as a significant victory, with broad support for Consensys’ stance on protecting Ethereum from regulatory overreach.
Fox Business journalist Eleanor Terrett recently reached out to Consensys founder Joseph Lubin to discuss the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) decision to end its investigation into Ethereum (ETH).
Consensys SEC Lawsuit Has Not Been Terminated
While Lubin welcomed the closure of the 14-month probe, he emphasized that the Consensys SEC lawsuit will continue, calling for more consistent market regulation.
Lubin remarked: “We are hopeful that the antagonism to crypto among some US regulators is starting to wane and that the national investor protection strategy will evolve from the current guerrilla tactics. Until then, we soldier forth with our litigation against the SEC in Texas because we are intent on achieving more legal clarity for all.”
The SEC‘s investigation into Ethereum began to surface in March when Fortune reported the agency was looking into three unidentified companies associated with Ethereum for potential securities violations. In response, Consensys sued the SEC in April, accusing the regulatory body of overreach. The Consensys SEC lawsuit alleges that SEC Chairman Gary Gensler was attempting to classify ETH as a security following its transition to proof of stake in September 2022.
Crypto Industry Hails Regulatory Win
Consensys’ legal action garnered significant support from policymakers, members of Congress, and the public, who agreed that the SEC’s actions threatened the Ethereum ecosystem. On June 7th, Consensys sent a letter to the SEC, arguing that the agency’s approval of ETH exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in May indicated that Ether should be considered a commodity, not a security, and called for an end to the Ethereum 2.0 investigation.
The announcement of the investigation’s closure was hailed by Consensys as a significant victory for the industry. The company noted that the decision implied the SEC would no longer pursue charges that Ethereum transactions constituted securities sales.
