Court greenlights expediting Consensys, SEC lawsuit

A national justice has approved a timeline for the tribunal to see the merits of the suit filed by bundle steadfast Consensys against the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and its commissioners.

In a July 1 filing successful the US District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Judge Reed O’Connor established deadlines requiring SEC and Consensys lawyers to record opening and absorption briefs by September and November, respectively.

Additionally, the justice granted the SEC a 28-day hold to respond to the complaint.

Timeline

According to the timeline, each 5 SEC commissioners and the regulator indispensable record their answers by July 29, with reply briefs owed by Nov. 26.

Consensys elder counsel and manager of planetary regulatory matters Bill Hughes said successful a July 2 social media post that helium expects a ruling connected the lawsuit astir December. He harkened to a Christmas song, writing:

“It’s opening to look a batch similar Christmas.”

Consensys filed its suit against the SEC successful April, alleging the regulator was being “unlawful” by trying to asseverate power implicit the “future of crypto” done enforcement actions aimed astatine regulating Ethereum (ETH) arsenic a security.

In June, Consensys reported that the SEC had ended its investigation into ETH. However, the SEC subsequently filed its ain lawsuit, alleging that Consensys had been operating arsenic an unregistered broker.

SEC authority

Legal experts successful the crypto assemblage are intimately monitoring the civilian lawsuit owed to its imaginable implications for the SEC’s regulatory authority. The watchdog is presently engaged successful respective pending lawsuits against different crypto firms, including Coinbase, Binance, and Ripple Labs.

Commissioner Mark Uyeda, besides named successful the Consensys lawsuit, described the SEC’s attack to crypto regularisation arsenic “problematic” successful a abstracted connection connected July 1.

The SEC and Consensys lawsuits were initiated earlier the US Supreme Court issued 2 opinions that could power however the committee handles enforcement cases. One sentiment determined that defendants successful SEC civilian cases involving securities fraud are entitled to a assemblage trial, portion different requires courts to measure whether a national bureau similar the SEC has acted wrong its statutory authority.

The result of this lawsuit whitethorn person important ramifications for the regulatory scenery of cryptocurrencies and the SEC’s aboriginal enforcement strategies.

The station Court greenlights expediting Consensys, SEC lawsuit appeared archetypal connected CryptoSlate.