SEC Just “Conceded” That ETH Is Not Security, Coinbase’s Top Lawyer Says

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has already conceded that Ethereum (ETH) is not a security, according to Paul Grewal, chief legal officer at Coinbase. 

His observation came after the SEC reached a settlement with trading platform eToro. The settlement stipulates that eToro should stop offering all crypto tokens for trading apart from Bitcoin (BTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), and Ethereum (ETH). 

While there are no doubts about the legal status of Bitcoin and its biggest, Ethereum has so far remained in the grey area. SEC Chair Gary Gensler has repeatedly dodged questions about whether or not ETH should be viewed as a commodity or a security. 

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The settlement is the strongest signal yet that the SEC might view Ethereum (ETH) as a non-security.

"There's no plan"

Still, Grewal has slammed the SEC why it views Bitcoin and Ethereum as non-securities while the other tokens are viewed as securities. 

Coinbase's top lawyer claims that the agency is simply incapable of explaining the rationale behind such a distinction. 

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"There is no plan, no framework, no logic, no due process, and certainly no respect for the law," he noted. 

Settlements are not laws 

It is worth noting that Ethereum is not out of the woods just yet despite the recent indicator that it might not be a security. 

Jake Chervinsky, chief legal officer at Variant, has cautioned that settlements do not establish new legal precedents. 

"We may see more like eToro from the SEC and other agencies this month, all with orders pretending to establish new precedent. None do," he said in a social media post.