According to TechFlow, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sued Consensys.
The SEC alleges in the complaint that since 2016, Consensys has developed and operated a suite of crypto-related services under the “MetaMask” brand. Consensys claims to be a leader and innovator in the crypto-asset industry, but some of the products it provides to customers perform archaic functions: (1) brokering securities transactions for retail investors and (2) engaging in the offer and sale of securities. Consensys violated federal securities laws by failing to register as a broker-dealer and failing to register the offer and sale of certain securities, thereby depriving investors of key protections under those laws.
Since October 2020, Consensys has acted as an unregistered crypto asset securities broker through its MetaMask Swaps service.
Since January 2023, Consensys has engaged in the offer and sale of unregistered crypto asset staking programs through its MetaMask Staking service and acted as an unregistered broker-dealer.
As an unregistered broker-dealer, Consensys collected more than $250 million in fees through these activities.
