Joseph Lubin claims SEC opposes Ethereum’s potential to revolutionize the banking industry

Joseph Lubin, the co-founder of Ethereum, has accused the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of deliberately impeding innovation and posing a threat to the country’s financial landscape. Lubin made these remarks during the Crypto and Digital Asset summit organized by FT Live in London, where he explained why Consensys had decided to sue the SEC after receiving a Wells notice from the regulator. Lubin claimed that the SEC had reclassified Ether as a security without informing anyone, and criticized the agency for its enforcement actions instead of engaging in open discussion and clear rulemaking. He further alleged that these actions were intended to create fear and uncertainty in the cryptocurrency industry and force companies like Consensys to move offshore. Lubin stated that Consensys’ legal action against the SEC aimed to seek clarity from US courts, highlighting the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s classification of Ether as a commodity. Lubin also raised suspicions about the SEC’s timing, suggesting that the regulator’s increased enforcement action against Ethereum was driven by the upcoming deadline for its decision on approving Ether spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs). He speculated that the SEC wanted to justify its actions if it were to deny the ETFs. Lubin argued that the SEC was wary of the potential transformation of the financial landscape through decentralized finance and the movement of assets into digital forms, which could threaten traditional banks and financial institutions. A favorable outcome for Consensys in its case against the SEC could have significant implications for the cryptocurrency and technology industry in the US. Lubin expressed concerns over the SEC’s claims that wallets like Coinbase and MetaMask were acting as broker-dealers, describing it as a dangerous precedent. He emphasized that the idea of a software serving as a broker-dealer was absurd and criticized the suggestion of registering MetaMask users’ wallets as broker-dealers. Lubin concluded that the SEC’s actions could impact the entire US technology industry.