🚨 The SEC has sued Consensys!!! (despite announcing it had closed its investigation into ETH 2.0 earlier this month).

For what?

The lawsuit alleges that Consensys acted as an unregistered broker of unregistered securities through MetaMask Swaps by accepting fees for trades of $MATIC, $MANA, $CHZ, $SAND, and $LUNA, which the SEC considers unregistered securities under the Howey Test.

It also claims that liquid staking tokens from Lido Finance and Rocket Pool, offered through MetaMask Staking, are unregistered investment contracts.

But Ariel, why should we care?

Well, this lawsuit is particularly interesting because two months ago, Consensys sued the SEC in Texas to block a similar suit, arguing that MetaMask Swaps and Staking are merely software tools, not brokers, citing SEC v. Coinbase. The SEC's response was due July 1, but they requested an extension - likely due to this new lawsuit.

The two cases will now proceed in parallel, presenting a fascinating legal study between federal courts.

WHAT A MESS!