Stuart Alderoty, Ripple’s top legal mind, still has some questions left after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission unexpectedly dropped its investigation into Ethereum.
Even though Alderoty described the SEC’s decision as a “big win” for Ethereum studio Consensys, he is still not sure whether it means that the company’s offers and sales of the Ether token are not securities. Moreover, the legal status of Ether itself largely remains in a grey area.
As reported by U.Today, SEC Chair Gary Gensler has repeatedly refused to clarify whether or not the Ether token can be considered to be an unregistered security. Alderoty is now wondering what Gensler’s response to such a question would be now that the agency has abruptly ended its probe into Consensys.
In April, the Ethereum backer filed a lawsuit against the agency after a Wells notice of impending enforcement action. Consensys accused the SEC of recklessly hurting market participants and developers by attempting to label Ether as a security. The studio also defended its popular MetaMask wallet, denying the SEC’s claims that it had violated securities laws by acting as an unregistered broker-dealer.
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In a sudden reversal, the SEC ended up not recommending an enforcement action, sending the price of the Ether token higher earlier this week.
However, the status of Metamask and staking remains unclear, according to Alderoty.
Consensys CEO Joseph Lubin hailed the decision as a “victory” for Ethereum and the broader cryptocurrency community. “It’s a testament to the strength of decentralized technology and the unyielding spirit of innovation that drives our builders,” he said. At the same time, he stressed that the fight for a “supportive regulatory environment” was far from over.