The US SEC has dropped its investigations against Ethereum 2.0, classifying it as a commodity similar to Bitcoin.
The latest development paves the way for the approval of more financial instruments, such as Ethereum ETFs and ETNs, without regulatory hurdles.
Though the Ethereum investigation is over, Consensys remains firm against the SEC for what it calls an "unprincipled and opaque" approach to regulation.
The news triggered a minor price surge for Ethereum, helping it to break the $3500 resistance level.
Large Ethereum investors (whales) jumped back in, with one of them buying a staggering 5,603 ETH, worth around $19.6 million.
One of the most significant regulatory hurdles Ethereum has had to cross since 2018 is the SEC's indecision.
Ethereum has been under intense regulatory scrutiny from the US Securities and Exchange Commission for years, particularly over its classification as a security or commodity.
However, on Tuesday this week, Consensys, a leading Ethereum developer, took to Twitter to announce one of the most significant victories for crypto in its decade-long history:
The SEC has decided to trash its investigation against Ethereum 2.0—permanently.
This means that Ethereum is now free from further regulatory scrutiny and is now classified as a commodity (like Bitcoin).
Let's go over this major regulatory shift and what it might mean for Ethereum and the crypto market at large.
According to Consensys’ tweet, "Ethereum has just survived the SEC."
This means that the US regulatory agency will no longer charge Ethereum with being a security or a commodity.
In essence, financial vehicles like ETFs and ETNs now have more or less the full regulatory go-ahead and should be approved and listed soon without hitches.
This comes after the SEC served Consensys with a Wells notice earlier in the year regarding the Ethereum developer’s MetaMask wallet.
Consensys responded with a lawsuit of its own against the SEC, suing the agency over its over-the-top attempts to control the future of crypto.
"[This is] a huge win for Ethereum," a Delphi Ventures co-founder, Tom Shaughnessy, commented on the most recent development.
The lawsuits and investigations into Ethereum might be over, but Consensys continues to adhere to its stance against the SEC and its approach to crypto regulation.
According to the company's complete statement, posted by Laura Brookover, a Consensys attorney, in a Twitter post, “While we [Consensys] are gratified by the SEC’s decision to stand down on Ethereum, there is more work to be done to protect crypto in the United States.”
The company statement went further to emphasize that the SEC needs to "abandon" its "unprincipled and opaque" approach to regulation for the good of "an industry that serves as the backbone to countless new technologies and innovations."
Within 20 minutes of Consensys' announcement, the price of Ethereum rallied slightly by around 1.5% from less than $3,400 to around $3,541, easily breaking the $3,500 price resistance.
Moreso, in less than a few minutes of the announcement, the Ethereum whales dove back in, according to LookOnChain, buying a staggering 5,603 ETH, worth around $19.6 million.
Ethereum whales dive back in
At the time of writing, Ethereum remains stable and strong, trading at around $3,560, bucking the trend against Bitcoin and helping the rest of the altcoin market up.
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