SEC Permanently Suspends Investigation Into Ethereum
The cryptocurrency community has been battling with the bears over the past couple of days. But, in a new turn of events, the market is celebrating Ethereum’s victory. Earlier today, Ethereum developer Consensys Software Inc. announced in a blog post that the United States Securities and Exchange Commission was closing its investigation around Ethereum’s native token, Ether.
JUST IN:
SEC permanently suspends its investigation into Ethereum.
— Watcher.Guru (@WatcherGuru) June 19, 2024
Consensys sued the SEC back in April and began its investigation to check if Ether was classified as a security. In the lawsuit, the SEC blatantly suggested that the SEC and Gary Gensler, the chairperson of the agency, believed that the altcoin was a security. However, in its X post, Consensys said,
“Today we’re happy to announce a major win for Ethereum developers, technology providers, and industry participants: the Enforcement Division of the SEC has notified us that it is closing its investigation into Ethereum 2.0. This means that the SEC will not bring charges alleging that sales of ETH are securities transactions.”
Also Read: SEC Approves All Spot Ethereum ETFs
Here’s How Ethereum Claimed This Win
The firm behind Ethereum posted a thread on X outlining the process behind its victory. On June 7, Consensys reportedly wrote to the SEC, requesting confirmation that the approvals for the spot ether exchange-traded fund meant that it would no longer be looking at investigating Ethereum 2.0. Consensys further noted that ETH tokens served as the foundation for the approval of spot Ether ETFs, though it was not final.
Laura Brookover, the attorney for Consensys, shared the SEC’s response letter and, in a separate tweet, wrote,
Despite its latest win, Consensys continues to voice criticism of the SEC’s regulatory approach. The company pointed out that the recent victory isn’t a “cure-all” for the blockchain developers, technology providers, and industry participants who have been harmed by the SEC’s harsh enforcement of crypto-related regulations.
Also Read: SEC Chair Gensler: Ethereum ETF Debut Will ‘Take Some Time’