Paul Grewal, Chief Legal Officer (CLO) at Coinbase, has become an important voice in the ongoing debate over the legal classification of ethereum by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), arguing in favor of the platform's non-secure status.
Wider recognition of the secure nature of ethereum
Taking to x (formerly twitter), Coinbase CLO Paul Grewal x.com/iampaulgrewal/status/1783586637752000555″ target=”_blank” rel=”noopener nofollow”>voiced his belief in ethereum as a commodity. According to Grewal, he knows that eth is a commodity, the entire crypto community knows it, and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) knows it. Therefore, it is imperative that the SEC recognizes its continued belief that eth is a commodity and stops playing games.
Additionally, he expressed gratitude to Consensys for filing a lawsuit against the regulatory watchdog, opposing the agency's illegal abuse of power.
On Thursday, Consensys stated in its presentation that the SEC has planned enforcement proceedings to regulate eth as a security as part of a strategy to take control over the future of cryptocurrencies. They also claimed that the company's MetaMask wallet software, which asks users to self-custody ethereum and other cryptocurrencies, was the main target of the SEC after receiving a Notice letter from Wells indicating possible regulatory action.
The filing cited a previous statement by the agency's director, Gary Gensler, about the eth security status. In 2018, when Gensler was a university professor, he stated that eth is sufficiently decentralized that it cannot be considered a security.
Consensys believes that by classifying eth as a security, the agency should not be allowed to arbitrarily extend its jurisdiction to encompass managing the future of the Internet. Furthermore, the firm claims that the SEC is being careless with its approach, thereby wreaking havoc on those involved in improving or managing crucial ethereum-based systems.
The presentation said:
The SEC's illegal seizure of authority over eth would spell disaster for the ethereum Network and for Consensys. Every eth holder, including Consensys, would fear violating securities laws if they transferred eth on the network. And the ability of anyone new to acquiring eth to use ethereum's repository of decentralized applications and services would be extinguished. This would halt the use of the ethereum blockchain in the United States, crippling one of the Internet's greatest innovations.
The company's main objective in filing a lawsuit against the SECOND is to protect access for the many developers, organizations and market players who have an interest in the ethereum blockchain, as well as ensure that eth remains a dynamic and reliable blockchain platform.
Blockchain adoption brings with it a revolution
consensus aims to increase the use of blockchain platforms like ethereum, which they believe will contribute to improving and reshaping the next generations to govern various systems in the world. These include social, political, economic and technological systems, which make the world more transparent, inventive and equal. However, this promising vision is now being questioned by the SEC.
Notably, ethereum offers a function of permissionless human ingenuity, not just permissionless information. As a result, Consensys has emphasized the need for transparency, urging those against the SEC's regulatory actions to speak out.
Featured image from iStock, chart from Tradingview.com
