Consensys, the maker of the popular MetaMask crypto wallet, announced this week that the Securities and Exchange Commission has backed off its unpopular campaign to investigate developers who use Ethereum. The move is in line with the growing legal consensus that Ethereum is a commodity, not a security, which puts it outside the agency's jurisdiction. The announcement, however, also contained a dark lining that reveals SEC Chair Gary Gensler's crusade against Ethereum is far from over.
You may recall that things between Consensys and the SEC came to a head when the company took the bold step of suing in April, asking a federal judge to force the agency to back off. The lawsuit came as a preemptive strike after the SEC had telegraphed it was on the verge of filing charges against the company after a year-long campaign of issuing subpoenas to developers who use Ethereum.
