According to Joseph Lubin, CEO of ConsenSys, the first applications to launch exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the United States are “as good as it gets.”
Speaking exclusively to Cointelegraph at DappCon in Berlin, Lubin said many 19b-4 filings filed by companies like BlackRock would be approved by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). However, releasing it to the public may be a longer process.
“It’s a 19-b4 from trade, I think it’s as good as it gets,” Lubin said.
“But the deployment of S1s, these new ETFs, could continue for a while. It’s not certain that this is the case. “I think it has now become a major political issue.”
According to Lubin, representatives of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign also spoke with participants in the cryptocurrency ecosystem for more than two months.
“That’s what we heard. They’re trying to formulate a strategy, keeping in mind that there are some very smart supporters on the Democratic side. “I think the presidential campaign and others will want to appear pro-crypto,” Lubin said.
The Ethereum co-founder added that the SEC is now under heavy pressure to take a more neutral stance in the run-up to the US presidential election. Lubin said the potential approval of Ethereum (ETH) ETFs would “hopefully” transform the SEC into a “thoughtful regulator.”
“If 40, 50 or 60% of the electorate owns digital assets, you don’t want to trample their wallets. “You don’t want to trample foundations, pension funds or any other type of saved money,” Lubin added.
Consensys takes the fight to the Securities and Exchange Commission
ConsenSys announced in April that it had filed a lawsuit against the Securities and Exchange Commission over what Lubin described as an undisclosed internal decision to reclassify Ethereum as a security.
Lubin said relations with the previous SEC regime led by Jay Clayton were more positive. Previous conversations with the regulator allowed for further discussions on whether Ethereum and other cryptocurrencies should be classified as securities.
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According to the CEO, the situation changed when Gary Gensler took over as chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission. Lubin said high-level banking and government factions worked together to select the Ethereum ecosystem.
“This is our working hypothesis. By co-optation, I mean a move to American-style decentralization, where everyone must show up to register. Lupine explained that he could introduce backdoors into the encryption.
Over two years, Consensys responded to the SEC’s requests, submitting more than 100,000 pages of documents to the regulator. A preemptive decision to take further legal action against the SEC was made due to growing concerns that the regulator is diverting its attention to MetaMask, staking, developers, the Ethereum protocol and its transition to a proof-of-stake consensus.
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The SEC’s lawsuits against Binance and Coinbase for allegedly offering unregistered securities and subsequent Wells advisory letters issued to ecosystem players like Uniswap provided the impetus for Consensys’ decision to opt out. take to the securities regulator, Lubin said.
“We have been told that a notice will be issued by Wales and we are sure they will follow up and take us to court. So we went ahead and formulated a procedure.
As Lubin explained, the decision puts Consensys at the forefront of efforts to get conclusive answers about the SEC’s actions over the past year. This also means that Gensler may have to give a final position on whether ether is considered a commodity or a security.
“Everyone keeps saying it’s a commodity. However, he can’t say it’s a guarantee. “This punishes everyone in our ecosystem as if they have already decided internally and secretly that this is a guarantee,” Lubin added.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) focused on Ethereum in America
The SEC’s stance on cryptocurrencies, and Ethereum in particular, led Lupine to believe that it intended to regulate the technology and developers. We are far from the institution’s mission to regulate securities.
Lubin said the SEC’s position has “inflamed” the industry and perpetuated a cloud of regulatory uncertainty. However, Consensys was “determined” to take the battle to the SEC and was prepared to spend tens of millions of dollars in the legal battle.
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