Consensys is the Ethereum software company behind the popular MetaMask wallet. The Securities and Exchange Commission announced that they have agreed to in principle dismiss the lawsuit filed against them. Disclosure: Consensys was one of the 22 investors who invested in an independent editorially-run publication. Decrypt.)
Joe Lubin, the firm's founder and CEO and also the co-founder of Ethereum itself, wrote on X Thursday that pending commissioner approval, the SEC said that it will file with the court to end the case.
"We were committed to fighting this suit until the bitter end but welcome this outcome," Lubin wrote. "No company wants to be the target of agency enforcement, but at the same time, it was our duty and honor to stand up for blockchain software developers in the hour it was most needed, as I’m sure our industry peers who also stood up against regulatory overreach would tell you."
I'm pleased to announce that Consensys and the SEC have agreed in principle that the securities enforcement case concerning MetaMask should be dismissed. Subject to the approval of the Commission, the SEC will file a stipulation with the court that effectively closes the case.…
— Joseph Lubin (@ethereumJoseph) February 27, 2025
SEC has declined to make any comment on Lubin’s allegations regarding the lawsuit.
Thursday's announcement comes following several other SEC moves over the last week to end investigations or lawsuits against crypto companies, including Coinbase, Robinhood, Uniswap Labs, and OpenSea.
Last summer, the SEC filed a lawsuit against Consensys that focused solely on MetaMask’s crypto-staking capabilities. The SEC claimed at the time that Consensys, by allowing MetaMask to allow users stake crypto tokens such as Ethereum, was offering securities without registration and acting like an unregistered brokerage.
The SEC was also poised to file a lawsuit against Consensys in the past year over Ethereum’s security status. That potential issue—which would have constituted an existential battle for the crypto industry—was suddenly avoided, however, when the SEC abruptly moved to approve spot Ethereum ETFs just weeks later, effectively accepting ETH to be a non-security.
The SEC’s crypto-hostile policy has been completely reversed since January when Donald Trump returned to the White House. SEC has established a task force for digital assets, engaged in dialogue with leaders of the industry, and dismissed most of its anti-crypto cases.
The SEC’s axing of its suit against Consensys rhymes with its other recent crypto case dismissals—in that it signals that secondary marketplaces and infrastructure providers will generally not find themselves in legal jeopardy should they facilitate the buying and selling of crypto assets.
However, it has yet to be clarified by the regulator if they are in agreement with any and all of these asset issuers.
Editor's note: This story was updated after publication with additional details.
