UNCHAINED: The SEC Ends Its Ethereum 2.0 Investigation, but Staking Isn't in the Clear

The SEC won’t pursue enforcement against Ethereum 2.0, but why? How much of a role did politics play? And where does that leave staking and court cases involving companies such as Consensys and Coinbase? 

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Last week, Consensys revealed that the SEC had concluded an investigation into Ethereum 2.0, referring to when Ethereum transitioned from a proof-of-work consensus mechanism to a proof-of-stake one.

In this episode, Laura Brookover, senior counsel & head of litigation and investigations at Consensys, and Sam Enzer, partner at Cahill Gordon & Reindel, explore the implications of this decision on Ether’s status as a commodity versus a security, and why the SEC dropped the pursuit, including whether the shifting political winds played a role. For instance, how much of the decision was influenced by the ETH ETF approvals, Democrats crossing party lines to vote for FIT21 and the repeal of SAB 121, and/or SEC crypto enforcement chief David Hirsch’s resignation? 

In this discussion, they also explained why the closure doesn’t necessarily mean that staking, or restaking, is safe from the SEC. Plus, what’s the impact of this closure on the other big crypto cases, such as Coinbase, Kraken, Uniswap, and Ripple? 

Show highlights:

How Consensys managed to get the SEC to reveal that it had concluded its investigation into Ethereum 2.0, and the significance of that moveThe SEC's possible reasoning behind investigating Ethereum after it had switched to proof of stakeHow uncommon is it for the SEC to send a letter concluding an investigation like the one into EthereumWhether recent events around crypto as an election issue, the ETH ETF approvals, votes for FIT21 and the repeal of SAB 121, and David Hirsch’s resignation, might be connected to the decision to close this investigationWhether the Biden administration has shifted its stance on crypto and whether Gensler should remain as chairHow the SEC might still go after stakingWhether restaking, such as pioneered by EigenLayer, is safe from regulatory actionsWhy the SEC might be pursuing different judgments in various jurisdictions for MetaMask and Coinbase WalletWhat crucial evidence from the closed Ethereum 2.0 investigation could strengthen Coinbase's defense in its ongoing lawsuitWhy the SEC's aggressive stance on various crypto enforcement actions seems to remain unchanged despite closing the Ethereum 2.0 investigationWhy Sam and Laura believe Solana should not be considered a security, despite the SEC naming it as such in various crypto casesHow the SEC’s argument about an “ecosystem” is nonsensical, according to Laura BrookoverWhat the implications of the closed investigation are for the cases of Kraken and RippleWhat Sam and Laura B. are watching out for in terms of regulation and ongoing legal cases

Visit our website for breaking news, analysis, op-eds, articles to learn about crypto, and much more: unchainedcrypto.com

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Guests:

Laura Brookover, Senior Counsel & Head of Litigation and Investigations at Consensys
Previous appearance on Unchained: Consensys’s Lawsuit Against The SEC: Will It End Gensler's ‘Unlawful Power Grab’?
Sam Enzer, Partner at Cahill Gordon & ReindelPrevious appearances on Unchained:
The Real Reason Why the SEC Might Be Going After EthereumHow 'a Criminal Choice' Got Sam Bankman-Fried a 25-Year Prison SentenceWhy the SEC’s Case Against Coinbase Is So Significant for CryptoWhy SBF’s Testimony So Far Has Likely Already Doomed HimAnother Bad Week for Sam Bankman-Fried in His Criminal TrialWhy These Lawyers Say It’s Over for SBF-But His Only Hail Mary Is to TestifySBF Trial: How Sam Bankman-Fried’s Lawyers Might Try and Win His CaseSBF’s Lawyers Could Be Annoying the Judge How Might That Impact the Trial?

Links

Ethereum ‘Survives the SEC’

Consensys announcement blog Consensys’ threadLaura Brookover’s tweet on the investigation being closed.Investigation Termination LetterFortune: Ethereum wins a major battle, but its war with the SEC is far from over CNBC: Consensys’ head of litigation provides new details after SEC closes probe into crypto firm

Consensys lawsuit against the SEC

Original Press ReleaseConsensys V. Gensler Et. Al ComplaintConsensys’s March 29 comment letter to SEC on proof-of-stake

Ether ETFs

CoinDesk: Ether ETFs Should Be Fully Approved by September, Says SEC Chair Gensler

Latest on other SEC enforcement actions

ccn.com: SEC vs Kraken: Judge “Inclined to Deny” Motion to Dismiss CaseUniswap Response to Wells Notice CoinDesk: Coinbase Loses Most of Motion to Dismiss SEC Lawsuit, (Mar 27)

Unchained Podcast is Produced by Laura Shin Media, LLC.  Distributed by CoinDesk. Senior Producer is Michele Musso and Executive Producer is Jared Schwartz. 

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