The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged the company's wallet with being an unregistered securities broker.
Feb 27, 2025 18:11 UTC
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is wrapping up another case against a U.S. cryptocurrency firm as the regulator continues a strategic shift away from the so-called “regulation by enforcement” approach to overseeing cryptocurrencies that was used under former Chairman Gary Gensler.
Joe Lubin, CEO of Brooklyn-based cryptocurrency software company ConsenSys, said in a post Thursday that the SEC has agreed to dismiss an ongoing securities enforcement case against ConsenSys’ MetaMask wallet. Like the agency’s decision to drop its case against crypto exchange Coinbase, which was made public last week, the move must first be approved by the agency’s commissioners.
“We intended to fight this lawsuit to the bitter end, but we welcome this outcome. No company wants to be pressured by a regulator, but at the same time, it was our responsibility and honor to protect blockchain software developers at a time when it was most needed, as I am sure our industry colleagues who also oppose over-regulation can attest to,” Lubin wrote.
The SEC filed a lawsuit against ConsenSys over MetaMask last June, alleging that the popular wallet tool operated as an unregistered securities broker that “engaged in the offering and sale of securities.” The lawsuit was filed about two weeks after the SEC notified ConsenSys that it had closed its investigation into Ethereum 2.0, which is why ConsenSys previously filed a lawsuit against the regulator in April 2024, citing abuse of power by the agency.
The SEC’s dismissal of its case against ConsenSys is the latest in a series of dismissed cases and investigations into crypto firms, including Gemini, Robinhood Crypto, Uniswap Labs, OpenSea, and Coinbase. The agency has also asked the courts to stay ongoing cases against Binance and the Tron Foundation, as well as their subsidiaries and executives.
The agency is currently rethinking its cryptocurrency regulation strategy under the new leadership of Acting Chairman Mark Uyeda, who created a cryptocurrency task force led by crypto-friendly Commissioner Hester Peirce just one day after Gensler left. In a statement earlier this month, Peirce laid out the SEC’s roadmap for cryptocurrency regulation and urged companies to be patient as the agency works to “extricate itself” from ongoing litigation.
“We appreciate the new SEC leadership and the pro-innovation, pro-investment course they are taking,” Lubin wrote. “We will continue to actively engage with public and private policymakers going forward. Cryptocurrency is committed to a U.S. that is pro-consumer and pro-business, and we are already moving in that direction.”
The SEC declined to comment on the situation.
