The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has been reluctant to comment on whether "Ethereum" should be classified as a security? In this context, Consensys, the parent company of the Metamask wallet Metamask, received a Wells Notice from the SEC in April. The SEC determined that Consensys was an unlicensed broker-dealer and intended to take enforcement action on the grounds that the MetaMask wallet violated securities laws.
In order to defend the Ethereum ecosystem, Consensys also filed a complaint with the SEC that month, accusing the SEC of intending to recognize Ethereum as a security, which was an "illegal seizure of power" over Ethereum, and asked the court to declare that Ethereum is not a security, and claimed that any Ethereum is a premise for securities, and the investigation into ConSenSys will violate administrative procedures.
SEC will end its investigation into Ethereum
After two months of silence, Consensys tweeted earlier today (19th) to announce that the SEC will end its investigation of Ethereum and will not accuse Ethereum sales of securities trading :
Today we are pleased to announce a major victory for Ethereum developers, technology providers, and industry participants: the SEC Enforcement Division has informed us that it is concluding its investigation into Ethereum 2.0, which means the SEC will not allege that ETH sales were Securities trading.
This decision follows a letter we sent on June 7, in which we asked the SEC to confirm that the approval of the Ethereum Spot ETF in May was based on the premise that Ethereum is a commodity, which means that the SEC The investigation into Ethereum 2.0 will be concluded.
Ending the Ethereum investigation is significant, but it does not resolve the pain that many blockchain developers, technology providers, and industry participants have suffered under the SEC’s unlawful and aggressive crypto enforcement regime.
Although the SEC has not officially announced it, as Consensys said, it is equivalent to the SEC recognizing that Ethereum is a commodity, not a security, just like Bitcoin, and means that Ethereum may not face legal action in the future. Trouble is of great significance.
However, Consensys continued to point out that the company’s lawsuit with the SEC is still ongoing and is still seeking the SEC’s representation that MetaMask Swaps and Stake do not violate securities laws. Perhaps affected by the news that the SEC will end its investigation into Ethereum, the price of ETH rebounded more strongly than Bitcoin today. Since 3 a.m., it has risen from around US$3,400 to US$3,534, an increase of nearly 4% in 7 hours.
Ethereum spot ETF issuer to respond to SEC comments by Friday
At the same time, attention has also been paid to when the Ethereum spot ETF will be officially listed. After the SEC approved the 19b-4 documents (changes in exchange rules) submitted by eight Ethereum spot ETF issuers last month, the issuers still need to wait for SEC approval. Only after its S-1 document (registration statement) can it officially start trading.
According to The Block , two people familiar with the matter revealed that the Ethereum spot ETF issuer has received comments from the SEC on the S-1 filing last week and plans to submit a response by this Friday, a source from an issuer said. , the latest round of comments were "reasonable" and expected approval soon, while a source at another publisher described the comments as "lighthearted."
Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart pointed out that Bitwise has submitted a revised S-1 document to the SEC on the 18th. The content of the document may still need to be adjusted and requires final SEC approval. He and another analyst Eric Balchunas believe that Ethereum The spot ETF should be launched by July 4th.
SEC Chairman Gary Gensler previously stated that the S-1 filing for the Ethereum spot ETF is expected to be approved sometime this summer, and the approval time will depend on the issuer's response to SEC feedback.
