The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a lawsuit against software company Ethereum ConsenSys on Friday, alleging that the company “acted as an unregistered securities broker for crypto assets through its MetaMask Swaps service.”
“Since January 2023, Consensys engaged in the unregistered offer and sale of securities in the form of cryptoassets staking software, and acted as an unregistered broker, through its MetaMask staking service,” the Securities and Exchange Commission said. He wrote in her file. “By her As an unregistered broker, Consensys collected more than $250 million in fees.
The lawsuit comes at a difficult time for the SEC and cryptocurrency regulation. Earlier Friday, the conservative majority of the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the so-called “Chevron Doctrine,” a bedrock of U.S. law that gave federal agencies like the SEC broad latitude to interpret their own powers and jurisdiction.
In a joint statement with DecryptionConsensys (Disclosure: One of 22 investors in an editorially independent company) Decryption) This ruling appears to point to that decision, defiantly asserting that the SEC has no right or ability to regulate crypto products like MetaMask.
“This is just the latest example of its regulatory overreach — a transparent attempt to redefine established legal standards and expand the SEC’s jurisdiction through lawsuits,” Consensys said. “We are confident in our position that the SEC has not received the authority to regulate software interfaces like MetaMask.
In April, Consensys He was previously sued The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed a lawsuit against MetaMask after receiving notice that the agency intends to file a lawsuit over MetaMask’s staking software. Consensys’ lawsuit also made a provocative allegation that the SEC has been secretly looking into Ethereum To be a wish For more than a year, he has been quietly building a broader case against crypto assets.
Then, earlier this month, Consensys announced that it had heard from the SEC that the regulator… close her case Against Ethereum. The SEC has neither confirmed nor denied this news, which has been widely celebrated within the cryptocurrency industry as a major capitulation signaling… Changing tides In Washington regarding the integration of cryptocurrencies.
While Consensys said today’s lawsuit was somewhat unsurprising, it nonetheless suggests that the SEC has refused to give up when it comes to waging war with America’s most influential cryptocurrency companies.
In the SEC lawsuit, the agency criticized Consensys for allowing MetaMask customers to place ETH in bets via third-party betting programs from Lido and Rocket Pool. The SEC claims that these betting programs are “offered and sold as investment contracts and therefore securities.”
The lawsuit did not describe ETH as a security, but the dance between describing ETH as a security and ETH itself as a commodity is a delicate one. Since Ethereum Merger 2022However, the Ethereum blockchain relied on staking to function — a fact that could have been pivotal in the now-closed SEC case against Ethereum.
Last month, the SEC may have put itself in a bind. It was suddenly approved Trade Ethereum Spot ETFs, Effectively Announcing ETH no It is safe in the agency’s view.
Editor’s Note: This story was updated after publication with additional details.
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