In an attempt to prevent the US Securities and Exchange Commission from regulating the Ethereum blockchain and what the company referred to as the agency's "campaign to seize control over the future of cryptocurrency," crypto software developer Consensys filed a lawsuit against the US government.
In a complaint filed in a federal court in Texas on Thursday, Consensys asserts that the blockchain would be rendered useless, "crippling one of the internet's greatest innovations," if the SEC were granted control over Ethereum and its digital token Ether.
The complaint is filed in response to the increasing investigation of Ethereum by the SEC. In March, the organization began reviewing several facets of Ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency in the world, and required data from multiple organizations.
According to a statement by Consensys founder Joseph Lubin, the SEC investigations into the firm and others involved in the Ethereum codebase are "only accelerating."
"They've made extensive requests for documents and testimony regarding our involvement with the code and the asset," commented Lubin, a co-founder of Ethereum blockchain. "Without any word from the SEC to the contrary, it is reasonable to assume that Consensys will soon be subject to an action pertaining to Ether."
To avoid having to deal with the SEC, Consensys is requesting a court ruling that the token does not qualify as a security. Regarding its MetaMask wallet, Consensys revealed on Thursday that it has obtained a Wells notice from the SEC.
No statement was made by the SEC regarding the case. A request for comment was not promptly responded to by the Ethereum Foundation, a non-profit that supports the blockchain
Though he has not explicitly stated it, SEC Chair Gary Gensler has stated that many digital assets are unregistered securities subject to SEC rules. The single cryptocurrency that Gensler has categorically stated is not a security, and that is Bitcoin, the biggest digital asset in the world.