US SEC, Consensys Agree to Drop Crypto Case: Details

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has finally agreed with Consensys to drop the Metamask staking case.

Apart from the victory this brings to the Ethereum software developer, this new development also marks another win for the broader cryptocurrency sector.

The Consensys Case is Over

For over a year, Consensys has faced intense scrutiny from the Commission over several charges.

These include staking services and operating as an unregistered broker in the US.

Consensys was also accused of failing to implement standard consumer protection measures.

Under Gary Gensler’s administration, the regulator built this case on the premise that all crypto, but Bitcoin, are securities.

As such, virtual assets service providers are meant to register any offering linked to these coins with the agency.

Coinbase faced a similar problem, and about 13 tokens, including Solana (SOL), Cardano (ADA), and Polygon (POL), were listed as unregistered securities.

Therefore, the SEC charged the American cryptocurrency exchange with violation of federal securities laws.

Today, the Commission’s stance has changed.

According to Joe Lubin, Consensys founder and Ethereum co-founder, both entities have agreed to end the SEC’s investigation.

Going forward, the SEC will file a stipulation with the court that effectively closes the case.

It is worth noting that Consensys had no plan to succumb but to fight till the end of the case, had it not been closed by the regulator

“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,” Lubin wrote on X.

US SEC and New Regulatory Shifts

Fox Business News journalist Eleanor Terrett had earlier highlighted the possibility for the SEC to suspend the case against Consensys.

She drew her notion from the Commission’s recent tilt towards cryptocurrency staking.

After sitting with representatives from Jito Labs and Multicoin Capital, the regulator claimed it is “very, very interested” in staking.

Both companies pointed out the role of staking in PoS blockchains, emphasizing its impact on investor returns and network security.

Their discussion likely prompted the SEC to change its mind about the crypto industry.

More importantly, the US leadership shift is a major contributor to this pivot.

President Donald Trump has shown himself to be pro-crypto and has appointed like-minded personalities in key positions.

Mark Uyeda is leading the SEC as the interim Chair after Gensler resigned on January 20.

All of these investigations and lawsuit dismissals are a function of the current favorable crypto atmosphere in the US.

High Profile Cases Now Over

Consensys bagged this victory only a few days after Coinbase, Robinhood, and Uniswap received dismissals of the SEC’s cases against them.

The SEC and Coinbase agreed on February 21, 2025, to drop the agency’s lawsuit.

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong described it as a “really good day” for the company and its users.

From a Wells Notice, Robinhood also secured a win after the SEC stated that it had concluded its investigation had no plans to follow up with enforcement action.

Uniswap also had the SEC investigation into its operations closed.