SEC formally sues Metamask! Named Lido and Rocket Pool's stETH and rETH belong to securities

This site (120Btc.coM):

1. Consensys, the parent company of Metamask wallet most commonly used by users in the currency circle,
2. has been officially sued by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
3. SEC alleges MetaMask’s Swap and Staking products allegedly violated federal securities laws,
4. Consensys has been operating as an unregistered broker-dealer since 2020, and
5. engaged in the issuance and sale of unregistered securities through MetaMask.

According to Coindesk and Cointelegraph reports:

1. SEC wrote in the indictment that
2. MetaMask allows users to buy and sell digital assets directly within the application through its "Swap (exchange transaction)" service,
3. Consensys is responsible for this The service charges a handling fee, and
4. has facilitated more than 36 million cryptocurrency transactions in the past 4 years.
5. SEC claims that at least 5 million of these transactions involved "crypto-asset securities."

These crypto-asset securities include:

1. Polygon (MATIC)
2. Mana (MANA)
3. Chiliz (CHZ)
4. Sandbox (SAND)
5. Luna (LUNA)

etc. in previous SEC lawsuits Tokens are classified as securities, and the SEC has also hinted that other digital assets may also be securities.

SEC sues Consensys

SEC’s pursuit of staking services

Preface

The SEC indictment alleges that Consensys charged more than 2.5 through crypto asset brokerage transactions and staking services without registering. Billions of dollars in fees deprive investors of important protections. The SEC is seeking permanent injunctions, civil penalties and other equitable relief against Consensys for alleged violations of federal securities laws.

Consensys accused of unregistered issuance and sale of securities

“Since January 2023, Consensys has been engaged in the unregistered issuance and sale of securities in the form of a crypto asset staking program and acts as a Unregistered Broker. As an unregistered broker, Consensys has collected over $250 million in fees”

SEC: stETH and rETH are unregistered “securities”

SEC considers the collateral provided by Lido and Rocket Pool. The project is an investment contract, but neither company has filed a registration statement with the SEC. The SEC noted that the MetaMask staking product provides users with third-party staking services by integrating these projects. By facilitating these staking programs through its MetaMask platform, Consensys acts as an unregistered broker and underwriter.

“Both the Lido and Rocket Pool staking projects are offered and sold as investment contracts and securities. Specifically, investors invest ETH in a common enterprise and receive reasonable profit expectations from the management efforts of Lido and Rocket Pool respectively. Since at least January 2023, Consensys has issued and sold tens of thousands of unregistered securities on behalf of liquidity staking program providers Lido and Rocket Pool, which create and issue liquid staking tokens known as stETH and rETH. In exchange for pledged assets. Through this conduct, Consensys acted as an underwriter of these securities and participated in a key link in their distribution. ”

Consensys: SEC Overreach

Consensys insists that the SEC has no authority to regulate wallet software such as MetaMask. interface. They will continue to advance their lawsuit against the SEC in Texas, seeking a court ruling on these issues.

LDO and RPL token prices drop

Lido (LDO) token price fell sharply due to SEC charges, and Rocket Pool (RPL) token price also fell.

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