Joe Lubin, Founder and CEO of Consensys, speaks at Consensus 2024 by CoinDesk. (Shutterstock/CoinDesk/Suzanne Cordiero)

SEC Sues ConsenSys Over MetaMask Staking, Broker Allegations

Summary

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has sued ConsenSys, a software provider for Ethereum, alleging that its MetaMask service acted as an unregistered broker involved in the offer and sale of securities. The SEC also claimed that MetaMask offered an unregistered securities program through its staking service. The lawsuit alleges that ConsenSys collected over $250 million in fees and offered staking services for Lido and Rocket Pool as investment contracts, which are also unregistered securities. This lawsuit follows the recent announcement by ConsenSys that the SEC had concluded investigations into the company related to Ethereum.