On Thursday, Ethereum giant Consensys launched a preemptive strike against the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
This action of the company has earned it praise from many crypto heavyweights, as they have been targets of the SEC’s crackdown against the crypto industry.
The lawsuit
Consensys is the firm behind the MetaMask crypto wallet and it recently filed a lawsuit against the securities regulator.
The company alleged that the SEC is overreaching when it comes to regulating Ethereum and is attempting to seize control of the crypto future.
According to the company, the SEC is planning on regulating Ethereum as a security, but it has not mentioned this publicly so far.
The CEO and founder of Uniswap took to X to thank the founder of Consensys and his team for fighting back and defending the crypto industry.
He added that they were tired of the harassment and overreach they had had to face at the hands of the regulator.
The SEC’s relationship with the crypto industry has been a long, yet contentious one, as it has filed various lawsuits against industry leaders like Coinbase, Kraken, Uniswap and Binance.
The change
Therefore, this turning of the tables has been regarded as a welcome change by figures in the crypto industry and they expressed their delight on Crypto Twitter.
Earlier this month, the SEC had sent a Wells notice to Uniswap in which it alleged that securities laws had been violated by the decentralized exchange.
This notice is a letter that the SEC sends to companies or individuals to inform them that it is planning on filing a lawsuit and taking enforcement action.
Consensys revealed in its lawsuit against the SEC that it had also received a Wells notice from the regulator.
This was after the agency had been investigating Ethereum, along with the transition of the network into proof-of-stake (PoS) after the merge and the MetaMask crypto wallet.
The purpose
The goal of the preemptive lawsuit that Consensys has filed against the SEC is to get a court to declare that Ethereum is not a security, which would nullify the claims of the SEC.
This move is one that some others in the crypto industry have also made, which includes crypto exchange Coinbase.
The San Francisco-based exchange is currently embroiled in a lawsuit with the SEC regarding selling unregistered securities.
Paul Grewal, the Chief Legal Officer of Coinbase, took to X to share his thoughts after the announcement by Consensys.
He said that they were aware that Ethereum is a commodity and the CFTC also knows it is a commodity.
He added that it was time for the SEC to admit the same and put an end to the games. He also thanked Consensys for taking a stand against the regulator’s unlawful expansion of its authority.
Neither Kraken nor Binance reacted to the announcement from Consensys, both of which are also fighting their own legal battles with the SEC.