The SEC has filed a lawsuit against Consensys, the parent company of the popular cryptocurrency wallet MetaMask. The SEC alleges that Consensys has been operating as an unregistered broker and engaging in the unregistered offer and sale of securities through MetaMask Swaps, collecting fees.
The SEC claims that Consensys facilitated crypto asset swapping and offered staking services through MetaMask, acting as an unregistered broker in these transactions and denying investors essential protections. The regulator also alleges that Consensys acted as an underwriter by facilitating investments in Lido and Rocket Pool's staking programs, which the SEC considers unregistered securities.
This lawsuit is the latest in the SEC's ongoing crackdown on the crypto industry, following previous actions against Kraken and Coinbase over their staking services. While the SEC did not classify Ethereum as a security in this complaint, the outcome of this case could have significant implications for the broader crypto ecosystem.
