By Danny Park

Compiled by: Echo, MarsBit

  • Consensys said the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has notified the company that the agency is closing its investigation into Ethereum 2.0.

  • The SEC’s decision came after Consensys sent a letter seeking clarification on the categories in its Ethereum spot ETF approval.

Consensys Software Inc. announced today that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Enforcement has notified the blockchain company that it is closing its investigation into Ethereum 2.0, calling it a “major victory” for the industry.

“Ethereum has passed the SEC’s test. This means the SEC will not bring charges that the ETH sales were securities transactions,” Consensys wrote in its X post.

Consensys detailed in the X post that the SEC’s decision follows a June 7 letter from the firm asking the agency to confirm that the May approval of a spot ether exchange-traded fund meant it was ending its investigation into Ethereum 2.0. Consensys wrote that the spot ETH ETF approval, while not final, was based on the premise that ETH tokens are commodities.

The blockchain development company behind the MetaMask Ethereum wallet filed a lawsuit with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in April, opposing the agency’s classification of ether as a financial security.

The company said in the complaint that SEC Enforcement Director Gurbir Grewal approved an investigation into Ethereum 2.0 on March 28, 2023, to examine individuals and entities that buy and sell Ether. Consensys allegedly received a Wells Notice from the SEC in April, meaning the agency planned to take enforcement action against it.

While U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Gary Gensler avoided directly answering the question of whether Ether is a security, Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman Rostin Behnam classified Ether as a commodity.

“Our fight continues,” Consensys said. “In our lawsuit, we also seek a declaration that providing the user interface software MetaMask Swaps and Staking does not violate securities laws.”

The SEC did not immediately respond to The Block’s request for comment.