A new report suggests SEC Chairman Gary Gensler believes Ethereum (ETH) was a security for the last 12 months. An April 29 Fox Business report states that Gensler believed for at least a year that Ethereum was an unregistered security. This is in contrast to the previous positions of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regarding  Ethereum’s status as a commodity. 

According to the report, a new court document filed today may provide more insights into the timeframe behind the Commission’s alleged grouping of Ethereum as a security. If the newly launched investigations point to Ethereum as a security, it contradicts previous statements by the financial regulator. 

“The new documents, filed Monday morning, have yet to be reported. They provide insight into the timeline behind the SEC’s thinking regarding Ethereum’s alleged status as a security, and shed light on what has been perhaps the biggest question facing the $2 trillion digital asset industry about the regulatory status of a cryptocurrency that is held by millions of investors.” 

Consensys At The Center of New Filings 

After the receipt of the SEC’s Wells Notice, Consensys filed a lawsuit in a Texas court alleging a shift from the Commision’s previous position amongst others.

The company alleged the SEC trying to seize control of the cryptocurrency industry. In 2018, the SEC noted that the second-largest cryptocurrency was not a security. This opened up claims of favoritism in the aftermath of the Ripple saga with the Commission. 

Consensys claims this position led individuals and firms to take new ventures which would be unfair to make a switch. Furthermore, the company argued this move will bring the blockchain industry to a halt in the United States. 

How Ethereum Saga Can Affect Crypto 

ETH is the second largest asset by market capitalization while the Ethereum blockchain hosts the largest amount of smart contracts and decentralized applications. 

With surging DeFi numbers, a move by the SEC on Ethereum could cripple the industry’s growth. The effects on the price could be massive as bulls set sights on retesting the $4,000 mark in the next bull run. 

Experts opine on possible effects from traditional finance due to the anticipation of spot Ethereum’s ETFs in the United States amongst some wealth managers bullish on its staking feature. 

Also Read: Breaking: EigenLayer Floats EIGEN Token Whitepaper On GitHub

The post Breaking: SEC, Gary Gensler Considered Ethereum As Security – Court appeared first on CoinGape.

---

Filed under: News - @ January 1, 1970 12:00 am