SEC agrees to drop Consensys lawsuit

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has agreed in principle to drop its lawsuit against crypto firm Consensys. The suit claimed that aspects of MetaMask violated securities laws.

According to Ethereum co-founder and Conensys founder Joeseph Lubin, the SEC has agreed to file a motion effectively ending the case, and the conclusion of the litigation is still subject to final approval from the commission. Lubin added:

“Now we can get 100% back to building. 2025 is going to be the best year yet for Ethereum and Consensys. The paradigm shift to a much more decentralized world is accelerating.”

Consensys was sued by the SEC in June 2024. The agency alleged that the company made more than $250 million in fees by offering staking services and digital asset swaps through MetaMask.

The SEC dropping litigation against Consensys is merely the latest in a series of dropped enforcement actions against crypto firms, including Uniswap, Robinhood Crypto, and Gemini.

Related: SEC closed investigation into Gemini with no action, says Winklevoss

Consensys goes on the offensive against SEC

Consensys filed a lawsuit against the SEC in April 2024 over the financial regulator’s purported plans to regulate Ether as a security.

Attorneys for the crypto firm argued that the SEC was attempting “to seize control over the future of cryptocurrency” and classifying Ether (ETH) as a security would criminalize anyone sending ETH over the network.

The Consensys lawyers added that comments from former SEC chairman Gary Genser made in 2018 clearly show the financial regulator’s stance that ETH was not a security.

In June 2024, the SEC dropped its Ethereum investigation. Consensys founder Joe Lubin attributed this to the Consensys lawsuit against the SEC, which would have placed Gensler’s 2018 comments front and center.

Magazine: Godzilla vs. Kong: SEC faces fierce battle against crypto’s legal firepower