ETH Will Not Be Classified as a Security, Asserts Ethereum Co-Founder Joe Lubin

Joseph Lubin, co-founder of Ethereum and founder of ConsenSys, a blockchain tech firm, expressed confidence that Ether (ETH) will not be classified as a security in the United States. Lubin stated this during an interview at the Web3 event, Building Blocks 23, in Tel Aviv. He mentioned that there would be strong opposition from the crypto community, politicians, and regulators if ETH were to be classified as a security. The Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman, Gary Gensler, had previously suggested that ETH might fall under the regulators’ jurisdiction due to the transition to a proof-of-stake consensus model. Lubin stated that he has been in discussions with the SEC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission for many years and believes that ETH is sufficiently decentralized and has multiple use cases that do not make it a security. He also mentioned that regulators are currently more focused on stablecoins. In response to rumors about the SEC considering a ban on retail consumers staking crypto, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong stated that staking is not a security and urged for clear rules to protect consumers and foster innovation.