A U.S. district court judge has dismissed a lawsuit brought by blockchain and Web3 developer Consensys Software Inc. against the Securities and Exchange Commission.
On Thursday, Judge Reed O’Connor of the Fort Worth District Court for the Northern District of Texas dismissed Consensys’ claims and sided with the SEC.
“For the reasons stated above, Defendants’ motion to dismiss Plaintiffs’ ETH claims is granted, and Counts I, II, and III are dismissed as frivolous,” Judge O’Connor wrote. “Plaintiffs concede that they are not pursuing their APA claims under Count IV. Finally, Defendants’ motion to dismiss Plaintiffs’ MetaMask claims for lack of subject matter jurisdiction is granted. Accordingly, the action is dismissed without prejudice.”
Consensus I sued In April, the SEC (U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission) partially challenged the way it classified Ethereum as a security. Consensys said the SEC has determined that ETH is a security, and that the agency has “targeted” the company’s Metamask software. The company also noted in its complaint that SEC staff sent Consensys a Wells Notice in April, which is formal notice that the agency intends to take enforcement action against Consensys.
But in late June, Consensys said: Notified The SEC announced that it was closing its investigation into Ethereum, which was described at the time as a “significant victory” for the industry. Consensys said it still plans to continue the lawsuit, as it is seeking “a declaration that the offering of its user interface software MetaMask Swaps and Staking does not violate securities laws.”
Then in July the SEC I sued Consensys has filed a lawsuit against Metamask for failing to register as a broker with the swap service. The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.
Judge O’Connor said the SEC’s actions regarding MetaMask were not “final.”
“Because Plaintiff has not identified a final agency action that would make the claim eligible for judicial review, and because withholding payment would result in little or no hardship for Plaintiff, the claim lacks a mature case or controversy,” the judge wrote. “Defendants’ motion to dismiss Plaintiff’s MetaMask claim on the grounds of maturity is granted.”
Consensys and the SEC did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
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