New York, Friday, September 19, 2024-A federal judge has dismissed Consensys’ lawsuit against the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which challenged the SEC’s stance on Ethereum (ETH) and its scrutiny of MetaMask’s Swap and Staking features.
The suit, filed in April 2024, claimed the SEC was improperly treating Ethereum as a security, while also focusing on Consensys’ failure to register as a broker-dealer through its MetaMask service.
This legal action followed the SEC’s Wells notice, which indicated its intent to bring enforcement action against the company.
Judge Reed O’Connor of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas dismissed the case, stating that the SEC’s actions regarding MetaMask were not final, and as such, the claims were premature for judicial review.
The court concluded that there was no “final agency action” regarding Ethereum or MetaMask, making the claims moot. Additionally, the judge found no significant hardship imposed on Consensys by withholding consideration of its claims, dismissing the case without prejudice.
Consensys remains defiant, vowing to continue its legal fight in the New York case, which addresses the SEC’s charges of failing to register MetaMask as a broker-dealer. The company also noted the shifting sentiment in Washington towards cryptocurrencies, indicating that this is a pivotal period for crypto regulations in the U.S. The SEC has yet to issue a public response to the ruling.
Consensys, the company behind the MetaMask wallet, has sued the SEC over how it categorizes Ethereum (ETH).
Consensys believes ETH is not a security and the SEC is wrong to regulate it as such.
The SEC has been investigating Consensys’s MetaMask software and its ETH holdings. Consensys argues the SEC has previously said ETH is not a security and is violating procedural laws. The crypto industry is backing Consensys’s lawsuit.
