{"id":13068,"date":"2024-04-30T12:25:42","date_gmt":"2024-04-30T09:25:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/consensys-lawsuit-reveals-secs-stance-on-ethereum-as-a-security\/"},"modified":"2024-04-30T12:25:42","modified_gmt":"2024-04-30T09:25:42","slug":"consensys-lawsuit-reveals-secs-stance-on-ethereum-as-a-security","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/consensys-lawsuit-reveals-secs-stance-on-ethereum-as-a-security\/","title":{"rendered":"ConsenSys Lawsuit Reveals SEC’s Stance on Ethereum as a Security"},"content":{"rendered":"

The lawsuit filed by ConsenSys against the SEC<\/span> has unveiled additional details about the regulator’s position on Ethereum. Legal experts suggest this could lead to a protracted legal battle.<\/p>\n

New Revelations<\/strong><\/h2>\n

According to an investigation by Fox Business<\/a> journalist Eleanor Terrett, the agency and its chairman, Gary Gensler, regarded the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization as a security.<\/p>\n

Based on court documents filed by ConsenSys, Gensler considered Ethereum an “unregistered asset not in compliance with existing federal regulations” for “at least a year.”<\/p>\n

The memo also states that on March 28, 2023, SEC’s head of enforcement, Gurbir Grewal, approved an official order to investigate the asset’s status as a security.<\/p>\n

The procedure, known as Ethereum 2.0, authorized agency staff to conduct investigative activities and subpoena individuals and entities involved in cryptocurrency trading, Terrett claims.<\/p>\n

According to Terrett’s anonymous sources, the SEC instructed subpoena recipients to keep the investigation confidential in exchange for details about personal cases. <\/p>\n

Terrett is convinced that the launch of Ethereum 2.0 was motivated by the assumption that ether is classified as a security and has thus been traded illegally since 2018. On April 13, 2023, the investigation’s findings were approved by five Commission chairmen.<\/p>\n

This occurred just days before Gensler’s appearance before the U.S. House Financial Services Committee, where he refused to answer questions regarding Ethereum’s classification.<\/p>\n

A Lengthy Battle<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Lawyers from TD Cowen, led by Jaret Seiberg, wrote that the SEC and ConsenSys litigation could drag on for a long time. This would also negatively impact the approval of spot Ethereum ETFs.<\/p>\n

\n

“The court case will last several years. We still believe the Commission is unlikely to approve exchange-traded funds based on the asset before 2025,” states the report reviewed by The Block<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

ConsenSys’s choice of the Northern District of Texas court, which shows “the least deference to regulatory bodies,” also “does not guarantee swift results,” the lawyers believe.<\/p>\n

According to TD Cowen representatives, Gensler “would be fine” if the court recognizes Ethereum as a security or a commodity. Furthermore, the SEC chairman aims to establish legal precedents for the digital asset market before Congress enacts legislation on its structure, experts assert.<\/p>\n

TD Cowen views the case as “positive” because ConsenSys raises key issues that need resolution. In 2018, former regulator William Hinman stated that ether is not a security, but Gensler’s refusal to comment on this matter has created prolonged uncertainty. <\/p>\n

On April 23, the SEC postponed its decision on the Ethereum fund from Franklin Templeton, with a deadline set for June 11. Previously, the regulator extended<\/a> the review period for a similar application from BlackRock. <\/p>\n

Investment bank Standard Chartered has revised its positive forecast regarding the fund and now doubts the agency will approve the instrument in May.<\/p>\n

According to Reuters, asset managers and other firms expect the SEC to reject applications for spot ETH ETFs following “disappointing” discussions. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The lawsuit filed by ConsenSys against the SEC has unveiled additional details about the regulator’s position on Ethereum. Legal experts suggest this could lead to a protracted legal battle. New Revelations According to an investigation by Fox Business journalist Eleanor Terrett, the agency and its chairman, Gary Gensler, regarded the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13067,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"select":"","news_style_id":"","cryptorium_level":"","_short_excerpt_text":"","creation_source":"","_metatest_mainpost_news_update":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[246,1162,46,1150,128],"class_list":["post-13068","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-and-analysis","tag-consensys","tag-court-cases","tag-ethereum","tag-news-plus","tag-sec"],"aioseo_notices":[],"amp_enabled":true,"views":"16","promo_type":"","layout_type":"","short_excerpt":"","is_update":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13068","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13068"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13068\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13067"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13068"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13068"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13068"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}