Ethereum won a phased victory in the SEC investigation, and the regulatory wind in the United States may change

作者：Mia，ChainCatcher

编辑：Marco，ChainCatcher

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

On June 19, Ethereum infrastructure development company Consensys posted on social media: "We are pleased to announce a major victory for Ethereum developers, technology providers, and industry participants: the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) enforcement department notified us that it is closing its investigation into Ethereum 2.0." This means that the SEC will not bring charges alleging that the sale of ETH is a securities transaction. ”

The 14-month investigation has finally come to an end, with a satisfactory progress.

The beginning and end of the SEC investigation

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

When the ETH blockchain moved to "proof-of-stake," Ethereum moved away from the energy-intensive model used by Bitcoin to one that relied on a network of trusted validators, and gave the SEC a new excuse to try to define Ethereum as a security.

In this regard, a ConsenSys spokesperson said: "If you look at Director Hinman's speech in 2018, when he said that Ethereum is not a security, he did not use PoW or PoS as a basis, and the consensus mechanism does not matter. ”

As early as 2018, William Hinman, then director of the SEC's financial department, made an important speech and made it clear that Ethereum is not considered a security. Gary Gensler, the current chairman of the SEC, also testified before Congress before becoming chairman of the SEC that ETH is not a security.

The sudden investigation undoubtedly sparked public controversy and thrust the SEC into the limelight.

Crypto leaders have begun to publicly attack the SEC.

Coinbase's chief legal officer, paulgrewal.eth, has posted on social media that millions of Americans hold ETH, and since its launch in 2015, ETH has been crucial to the cryptocurrency space, and that ETH is a commodity, not a security, which is also a position that the SEC has taken for years, and the SEC has no good reason to reject the ETH ETF application.

The premise of ETH ETF approval is the assumption that ETH is a commodity, and with the approval of the ETH ETF application in May this year, ETH's commodity attributes have been proven again, which also means that the agency will end its investigation into Ethereum 2.0, which also makes this investigation more "nonsensical".

The SEC seems to have realized this and eventually dropped the investigation.

The SEC is moving towards dovation

Since Gary Gensler took office, the SEC seems to have been seen 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, and even leads to a round of decline.

Gary Gensler has passed most of his tenure since serving as SEC chair in April 2021. During his tenure, Gary Gensler led cases against a number of high-profile crypto companies, including Binance, Coinbase, Kraken, and FTX. These cases involve issues such as market manipulation, unregistered securities issuance, and violations of anti-money laundering regulations. These actions have made crypto companies feel unprecedented regulatory pressure, and at the same time, they have also sparked discussions in the industry about the scale and scope of regulation.

As time goes on, crypto users seem to have become immune, and the SEC's attitude towards crypto seems to have become moderate in the crypto industry.

In the face of controversy and skepticism, Gary Gensler and the SEC are also trying to adjust their regulatory strategies and rhetoric. They began to pay more attention to communication and cooperation with the crypto industry, trying to find a way to regulate that would protect the rights and interests of investors and promote the development of the market.

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 for the Ethereum spot ETF, two things that promote the convergence of the crypto industry and mainstream finance.

Regarding the recent moderate measures of the SEC in the crypto field, Hong Kong blockchain lawyer Wu Wenqian believes that "the SEC's regulatory attitude seems to be showing signs of a change in direction".

"Last month, the SEC officially approved the 19 b-4 document of the Ethereum spot ETF, and although there is still some controversy about whether ETH is a security in law, this move has undoubtedly brought a touch of warmth to the cryptocurrency industry," said Mr. Wu. Although this decision to withdraw the investigation may not have a direct legal significance for the transparency and consistency of supervision, it is undoubtedly seen as an important signal of a possible shift in the direction of regulation.

Given the approaching US election this year, there is a real possibility of a major shift in policy direction. Against this backdrop, the SEC's regulatory attitude towards cryptocurrencies may indicate a more open and inclusive regulatory environment in the future. This is undoubtedly a positive sign to look forward to for the cryptocurrency industry. ”

On June 20, Forbes business correspondent Eleanor Terrett revealed that Consensys founder Joseph Lubin said that the company still plans to move forward with the lawsuit, "The SEC's decision to end the 14-month investigation into Ethereum is a welcome development — it's necessary, but not enough." There has to be a better way to regulate the market than raids. We hope that the antagonistic sentiment towards cryptocurrencies from some US regulators will begin to wane, and that the national investor protection strategy will evolve from the current guerrilla tactics. Until then, we will continue our litigation against the SEC in Texas as we work to fight for more legal clarity for all. ”

In the face of the savage growth of the primitive crypto society, the corresponding regulation and adjustment is undoubtedly the only way.

As Lubin said, only by clearly defining the scope and scale of regulation through legal means can we truly promote the healthy development of the crypto industry and protect the legitimate rights and interests of investors, and regulators and the crypto industry should find a better way to regulate the market instead of conducting surprise inspections.