Ethereum wins a staged victory in the SEC investigation, will the direction of U.S. regulatory winds change?

Written by Mia, ChainCatcher

Following the approval of the Ethereum ETF, Ethereum once again won a staged victory in the public eye.

On June 19, Ethereum infrastructure development company Consensys posted on social media: "We are pleased to announce that Ethereum developers, technology providers and industry participants have achieved a major victory: the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) The SEC's Enforcement Division informed us that it is closing its investigation into Ethereum 2.0. This means that the SEC will not file charges that the sale of ETH is a securities transaction."

This 14-month investigation has finally come to an end and won. A satisfactory progress.

SEC investigation from beginning to end

According to people familiar with the matter, the investigation began in September 2022, shortly after ETH was transferred to POS.

When the ETH blockchain moves to "Proof of Stake", Ethereum moves away from the energy-intensive model used by Bitcoin and instead adopts a model that relies on a network of trusted validators, and provides a new excuse for the SEC to try Define Ethereum as a security.

In this regard, a ConsenSys spokesperson said: "If you look at Director Hinman's speech in 2018, you will understand. At that time, he said that Ethereum was not a security. He did not use PoW or PoS as a basis, and the consensus mechanism is irrelevant."

As early as 2018, William Hinman, then director of the SEC's Financial Department, made an important speech, making it clear that Ethereum was not considered a security. Current SEC Chairman Gary Gensler, before serving as SEC Chairman, also testified before Congress that ETH is not a security.

The sudden investigation undoubtedly triggered public controversy and pushed the SEC to the forefront.

Major crypto leaders began to publicly criticize the SEC.

Coinbase Chief Legal Officer paulgrewal.eth once posted on social media that millions of Americans hold ETH. Since its launch in 2015, ETH has been crucial to the cryptocurrency field. ETH is a commodity, not a commodity. A security, and this is the position the SEC has taken for years, the SEC has no good reason to reject the ETH ETF application.

The premise for the approval of ETH ETF is the assumption that ETH is a commodity. With the approval of the application for ETH ETF in May this year, the commodity attribute of ETH has been proved again, which also means that the agency will end its investigation of Ethereum 2.0. This also makes this investigation even more "nonsensical."

SEC seemed to be aware of this and eventually dropped the investigation.

SEC is moving towards moderation

Since Gary Gensler took office, the SEC seems to have been regarded as the "public enemy of the crypto world".

Whenever the SEC investigates or takes action against certain projects or well-known individuals, the market tends to fluctuate as a result, or even lead to a market decline.

From April 2021 to now, Gary Gensler has served more than half of his term as SEC Chairman. During his tenure, Gary Gensler led cases against several well-known crypto companies, including Binance, Coinbase, Kraken, and FTX. Issues involved in these cases include market manipulation, unregistered securities offerings, and violations of anti-money laundering regulations. These actions have caused crypto companies to feel unprecedented regulatory pressure, and have also triggered discussions in the industry on the scale and scope of regulation.

As time goes by, crypto users seem to be becoming immune, and the SEC’s attitude towards crypto seems to be softening despite the hard work in the crypto industry.

Facing controversy and doubts, Gary Gensler and the SEC are also working hard to adjust their regulatory strategies and remarks. They began to pay more attention to communication and cooperation with the encryption industry, trying to find a regulatory method that can not only protect the rights and interests of investors but also promote market development.

While “rectifying” the crypto industry, the SEC has been working on the integration of crypto finance and traditional finance.

In January this year, the Bitcoin spot ETF was listed; in May, the SEC also approved the 19 b-4 filing of the Ethereum spot ETF. These two events promoted the integration of the crypto industry and mainstream finance.

Regarding the recent mild measures taken by the SEC in the field of encryption, Hong Kong blockchain lawyer Wu Wenqian believes that "the SEC's regulatory attitude seems to be changing."

Lawyer Wu said, “Last month, the SEC officially adopted the decision of the 19 b-4 document of the Ethereum spot ETF. Although there is still some controversy over whether ETH is a security legally, this move undoubtedly brings benefits to the cryptocurrency industry. A hint of warmth. Although this decision to withdraw the investigation may not have direct legal implications for regulatory transparency and consistency, it is undoubtedly regarded as an important signal for a possible change in regulatory direction

. With the U.S. election approaching this year, there is indeed the possibility of major changes in policy direction. Against this background, the SEC’s adjustment in its regulatory attitude toward cryptocurrencies may herald a more open and inclusive regulatory environment for the cryptocurrency industry in the future. It is undoubtedly a positive sign worth looking forward to.”

6 月 20 日，福布斯商业记者 Eleanor Terrett 透露，Consensys 创始人 Joseph Lubin 表示，公司仍计划继续推进诉讼，「美国证券交易委员会决定结束对以太坊为期 14 个月的调查是一个受欢迎的进展——这是必要的，但还不够。必须有比突袭更好的市场监管方式。我们希望一些美国监管机构对加密货币的对抗情绪开始减弱，并且国家投资者保护策略将从当前的游击战术中演变出来。在此之前，我们将在德克萨斯州继续对美国证券交易委员会的诉讼，因为我们致力于为所有人争取更多的法律明确性。」

面对野蛮生长的原始加密社会，相应的监管和调整无疑是必经之路。

正如 Lubin 所言，只有通过法律手段明确界定监管范围和尺度，才能真正促进加密行业的健康发展，同时保护投资者的合法权益，而监管机构与加密行业应该找到更好的市场监管方式，而不是突击检查。

The above is the detailed content of Ethereum wins a staged victory in the SEC investigation, will the direction of U.S. regulatory winds change?. For more information, please follow other related articles on the PHP Chinese website!