The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has concluded its scrutiny of Ethereum, determining not to proceed with claims that Ether transactions are securities exchanges, as announced by Ethereum developer, Consensys .
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Consensys communicated via a post on June 19 that the SEC’s Enforcement Division officially closed its investigation into Ethereum 2.0, a decision which Consensys celebrates as a substantial victory for all stakeholders in the Ethereum ecosystem, from developers to industry players.
The decision followed Consensys’s June 7 correspondence to the SEC, querying whether the investigation could be concluded especially after the regulatory approval of spot Ether exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in May, which, according to Consensys, underscored Ether’s classification as a commodity.
Consensys’s senior counsel, Laura Brookover, revealed the SEC’s response, indicating the agency’s decision not to recommend any enforcement action at this time. However, the SEC has yet to make an official comment on this development.
This closure comes after a period of heightened scrutiny, where in March, according to Fortune, the SEC had issued subpoenas concerning the classification of ETH as a security. Furthermore, in April, following a Wells notice from the SEC regarding potential securities law violations by its MetaMask crypto wallet, Consensys initiated legal action against the SEC. This lawsuit emphasized ongoing beliefs by SEC officials, including Chair Gary Gensler and Enforcement Director Gurbir Grewal, regarding ETH’s status as a security dating back to early 2023. Despite the recent favorable development, Consensys noted that this lawsuit is still in progress.
