Consensys, the developer of the MetaMask wallet, has filed a lawsuit against the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The organization explained this as a desire to “protect the Ethereum community in the United States.”
“Today [April 25, 2024], Consensys filed a lawsuit against the SEC. Its goal is to ensure that Ethereum remains a vibrant and indispensable blockchain platform and that countless developers, institutions and participants continue to have access to it,” the company said in an official statement.
Consensys believes that the SEC's move to regulate Ethereum (ETH) as a security will have broad implications. In particular, this will jeopardize future innovations, the firm believes.
In the official press release, the MetaMask developer noted that the purpose of the lawsuit is to confirm a number of theses, namely:
- Ethereum (ETH) is not a security. Blockchain is a global computing platform, not an investment scheme;
- applications that allow transactions in Ethereum are not considered brokers;
- The SEC's position undermines the US's future as a leader in some technologies.
In the lawsuit, the company demanded that a federal court confirm the status of Ethereum (ETH) as a commodity, not a security. Among other things, this will allow Consensys to avoid proceedings from the SEC.
The firm said it received a “Wells Notice” from the regulator on April 10, 2024. It states that MetaMask was acting as an unregistered broker. Please note that such an appeal often precedes the filing of a claim by the Commission.
“MetaMask is simply a browser-like interface that allows owners to seamlessly interact with the Ethereum network, including other participants and applications,” the firm outlined its position.
It is noteworthy that SEC Chairman Gary Gensler previously called Ethereum (ETH) a commodity.
