SEC Files Lawsuit Against Consensys

The US Securities and Exchange Commission filed on Friday a lawsuit against Ethereum software provider Consensys, claiming that its MetaMask service was an unregistered broker engaged in selling securities.

The SEC also targeted two third-party platforms, Lido and Rocket Pool, which MetaMask uses to facilitate staking.

This is the latest effort by the SEC to regulate a wide range of cryptocurrency assets as securities, and it also suggests that the agency may attempt to classify liquid staking derivatives of Ethereum, such as Lido’s stETH token, as under its jurisdiction.

Already, the SEC has reached settlements over staking services with companies like Kraken and has prompted Coinbase to end its staking offerings in certain states.

MetaMask, which is the most widely-used wallet for Ethereum and other digital assets, not only allows users to store their cryptocurrency, but also offers a “Swaps” service that enables users to directly buy and sell digital assets through the app.