SEC files lawsuit against Consensys

The Securities and Exchange Commission filed a suit against Consensys Software on Friday.

The SEC is alleging that the company failed to register as a broker as well as offering and selling unregistered securities.

Specifically, the SEC targeted MetaMask Swaps. The regulator alleges that Consensys “holds itself out as a place to buy and sell crypto assets (which include crypto asset securities), recommends trades with — as Consensys itself puts it — the ‘best’ value, accepts investor orders, routes investor orders, handles customers assets, carries out trading parameters and instructions on the customer’s behalf, and receives transaction-based compensation.”

“By its conduct as an unregistered broker, Consensys has collected over $250 million in fees,” the suit claims.

The SEC says that two of the securities offered by Consensys — Lido and Rocket Pool — are unregistered securities.

“Consensys’s unregistered offer and sale of the Lido and Rocket Pool securities, as to which it also acts as an unregistered broker, violates the federal securities laws…Indeed, registration statements provide investors with material information about the securities offering and the issuer’s business and financial condition, so that investors can make informed investment decisions,” the SEC claimed.

The claims by the SEC Friday line up with what Consensys has previously said that the SEC alleged in its Wells notice. According to a lawsuit filed by Consensys against the SEC earlier this year, the SEC targeted MetaMask Swaps in an investigation, warning Consensys that it may pursue legal action.

Last summer, the SEC filed suits against both Coinbase and Binance. The regulator alleged that the two also offered and sold unregistered securities.

Consensys didn’t immediately return a request for comment on the suit.

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