The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged ConsenSys Software Inc. with unregistered securities activities involving its MetaMask Staking and MetaMask Swaps services. According to the SEC’s complaint, ConsenSys has been involved in the unregistered offer and sale of securities through liquid staking programs, specifically through partnerships with Lido and Rocket Pool, since at least January 2023. These programs create liquid staking tokens that can be freely traded, unlike traditional staked tokens which are locked.
The SEC alleges that ConsenSys collected substantial fees as an unregistered broker and engaged in the unregistered sale of thousands of securities, impacting the U.S. securities markets without providing the investor protections mandated by federal laws. The complaint points out that ConsenSys’s activities have included soliciting investors, providing trading information, and handling customer orders while receiving compensation based on transactions.
Additionally, the SEC’s complaint, filed in the Eastern District of New York, accuses ConsenSys of violating registration provisions under the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The SEC is seeking injunctive relief and financial penalties against ConsenSys to address these alleged regulatory breaches.
The investigation was conducted by members of the SEC’s Crypto Assets and Cyber Unit, including Daphna Waxman, Amy Mayer, and Abigail Cooper, with supervision from Mark R. Sylvester and Jorge G. Tenreiro. The litigation will be led by Samuel Wasserman and overseen by Jack Kaufman and Tenreiro.
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