Crypto Company Consensys Sues US Exchange Authority, What's Up?

Liputan6.com, Jakarta – Crypto software company Consensys is suing the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in an attempt to fend off regulation of the Ethereum blockchain and oppose a campaign to take control of the future of cryptocurrencies.

Consensys said in its lawsuit in federal court in Texas on Thursday, April 25, 2024 that if the SEC were allowed to exercise authority over Ethereum and its digital token Ether, it would halt the blockchain, crippling one of the internet's greatest innovations.

The lawsuit comes amid increased scrutiny of Ethereum by the SEC. In March, the agency requested information from companies as part of a review of aspects of Ether, the world's second-largest cryptocurrency.

Consensys founder and co-founder of the Ethereum blockchain Joseph Lubin, said in a statement the SEC's investigation into the company and other parties contributing to the Ethereum codebase is accelerating.

“They have submitted numerous requests for documents and testimony regarding our involvement with the code and assets,” said Lubin, quoted from Yahoo Finance, Friday (26/4/2024).

Consensys is asking the court to rule the tokens are not securities and do not fall under the authority of the SEC. On Thursday, Consensys revealed it received a Wells notice from the SEC related to its MetaMask wallet.

SEC Chairman Gary Gensler said many digital assets are unregistered securities subject to SEC rules, but he has not specified whether Ether is part of that group.

Bitcoin, the world's largest digital asset, is the only cryptocurrency that Gensler says is definitely not a security.

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