TechFlow news — The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed a lawsuit against Consensys.
In the complaint, the SEC alleges that since 2016, Consensys has developed and operated a suite of services related to digital assets under the "MetaMask" brand. While positioning itself as a leader and innovator in the digital asset industry, Consensys has offered certain products to customers that perform traditional functions: (1) acting as a broker-dealer for retail investors in securities transactions, and (2) engaging in the offer and sale of securities. By failing to register as a broker-dealer and by not registering certain offers and sales of securities, Consensys violated federal securities laws and deprived investors of critical protections afforded by those laws.
Since October 2020, Consensys has operated its MetaMask Swaps service as an unregistered digital asset securities broker-dealer.
Since January 2023, Consensys has engaged in the unregistered offer and sale of a digital asset staking program through its MetaMask Staking service, while also operating as an unregistered broker-dealer.
As an unregistered broker-dealer, Consensys has collected over $250 million in fees from these activities.
