Consensys CEO Joseph Lubin Says SEC Closes Ethereum Investigation

(Bloomberg) — The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has completed its review of Ethereum, according to Joseph Lubin, one of the original developers of the second-largest cryptocurrency network.

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Lubin is also the founder and CEO of crypto software company Consensys, which sued the agency in April in an effort to push back against regulation of the Ethereum blockchain. The SEC does not comment on the existence or non-existence of a possible investigation, a spokesperson said Wednesday.

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Ether, the blockchain’s native currency, rose about 3% to $3,567 on Wednesday. It’s up about 55% so far this year.

The SEC last month approved a proposal from sites run by Cboe Global Markets Inc., Nasdaq and the New York Stock Exchange to list exchange-traded funds that invest directly in Ether. Additional approvals are needed before applicants such as BlackRock Inc. and Fidelity Investments can launch such products.

Although Bitcoin is considered a commodity, the SEC says most other tokens are unregistered securities that should be subject to its oversight.

SEC Chairman Gary Gensler, however, has been ambiguous about whether Ether is a security. Crypto enthusiasts are concerned that the token – and potentially projects based on the Ethereum blockchain – will fall foul of the agency’s strict and costly rules.

(Adds in second paragraph that the SEC declined to comment.)

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