Ethereum

Fortune

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is dropping its investigation into whether Ether&nbsp;is a security.
“The Enforcement Division of the SEC has notified us that it is closing its investigation into Ethereum 2.0,” Ethereum developer Consensys said in a June 19 X <a href="https://x.com/Consensys/status/1803230653120659641" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">post</a>.
“This means that the SEC will not bring charges alleging that sales of ETH are securities transactions,” which the firm hailed as a “major win for Ethereum developers, technology providers, and industry participants.”
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 Source: <a href="https://x.com/Consensys/status/1803230653120659641" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">Consensys</a>
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Consensys said the SEC’s decision came after it sent a letter to the agency on June 7 asking if it would end its investigation into Ether (<a href="https://cointelegraph.com/ethereum-price">ETH</a>),&nbsp;as the regulator approved <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/learn/spot-ethereum-etf"></a><a href="https://cointelegraph.com/learn/spot-ethereum-etf">spot Ether exchange-traded funds (ETFs)</a> in May, which the firm said are “premised on ETH being a commodity.”
Consensys senior counsel Laura Brookover <a href="https://x.com/laurabrooksie1/status/1803238438772076809" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">shared</a> the SEC’s response letter to the firm, which states that the agency does not “intend to recommend an enforcement action.”
The SEC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In March, Fortune reported the SEC <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/sec-ether-security-classification"></a><a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/sec-ether-security-classification">issued subpoenas to multiple companies</a> which was related to attempts to label ETH as a security.
Related: <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/sec-chair-spot-ether-etf-s1-approvals-summer">SEC chair sees spot Ether ETF S-1 approvals sometime in summer 2024</a>
Consensys <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/consensys-lawsuit-sec-ethereum">sued the SEC</a> in April shortly after receiving a Wells notice from the agency warning it that its <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/learn/metamask-tutorial-for-beginners-how-to-set-up-a-metamask-wallet">MetaMask</a> crypto wallet may have violated securities laws. 
The lawsuit claimed the SEC and its Chair Gary Gensler believed ETH was a security <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/sec-chair-gensler-ether-security-year">since at least</a> early 2023. Consensys claimed SEC Division of Enforcement Director Gurbir Grewal approved a formal order of investigation into Ether’s status as a security on March 28, 2023.
In its latest post, it said the lawsuit is still ongoing. 
X Hall of Flame — <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/magazine/polygon-anurag-arjun-avail-ethereum-x-hall-of-flame/">Polygon never set out to beat Ethereum: Anurag Arjun</a>

SEC to drop investigation into Ethereum — Consensys

Cointelegraph

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