Regulation
US SEC “Abuse Of Power” Cited as Consensys Cuts Work Force By 20%
Consensys, the Ethereum-focused blockchain technology firm and creator of the MetaMask wallet, has announced a 20% reduction of its workforce, impacting approximately 162 employees. Founder and CEO Joseph Lubin attributes these layoffs to both the broader macroeconomic challenges and regulatory pressures from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
MetaMask Creator Consensys Reduces Staff, Citing SEC Scrutiny
In a recent blog post, Consensys outlined its decision to reduce staffing by 20%, impacting around 162 employees across multiple divisions. The company attributed this decision to heightened macroeconomic pressures, including increased inflation and tighter liquidity conditions.
Additionally, Consensys, known for creating MetaMask, one of the most widely used decentralized crypto wallets, has faced challenges partly due to US SEC scrutiny. According to CEO Joseph Lubin, regulatory actions from the US SEC have forced the company and others in the industry to bear significant legal costs. These cases often lead to extended legal battles, impacting companies’ operational budgets and slowing innovation in the sector.
Joseph Lubin stressed,
“Such attacks from the US government will end up costing many companies that have been investigated, sued, or sent Wells Notices, many millions of dollars.”
More so, Lubin noted that US SEC lawsuits have led to “lost jobs and halted productive investments” across the blockchain industry. However, CEO Lubin emphasized that Consensys remains committed to supporting Ethereum’s mission and working toward decentralization.
The US SEC has been actively pursuing cases against crypto firms, creating uncertainties. Most industry leaders have expressed disappointment with the regulatory body, citing its negative impact on business growth and innovation. For instance, in the ongoing Ripple vs. SEC lawsuit, Ripple has had to adjust its legal representation, with executives Brad Garlinghouse and Chris Larsen hiring key lawyers ahead of the appeal.
Amid these challenges, Consensys has focused on aligning its strategy with core business areas while controlling operational costs. Lubin expressed that maintaining financial resilience under these market conditions is crucial for the company’s long-term sustainability.
The CEO added,
“To stay competitive, we need to reshape ourselves to be more agile, more effective, and even higher-performing.”
Road to Decentralization Remains on Track
Despite workforce reductions, Consensys reaffirms its commitment to decentralization.. According to Lubin, the company’s long-term vision is to evolve into a “Network State,” transitioning into a loosely coupled structure of teams to drive innovation.
This shift toward decentralization, supported by projects like MetaMask and Linea, aims to reinforce the decentralized web3 ecosystem. Moreover, the creator of the MetaMask wallet envisions enhancing its cross-chain capabilities and launching new features, including the MetaMask card, to broaden its utility.
Joseph Lubin stated,
“Over the coming weeks, we’ll be making concrete announcements that demonstrate this commitment to decentralization.”
Adding to the US SEC’s ongoing industry-wide disputes, Coinbase recently filed an Amicus Brief in support of the DeFi Education Fund. As part of its stance, Coinbase argues that the US SEC has inconsistently applied regulatory standards to the crypto sector, creating ambiguity.
Ronny Mugendi
Ronny Mugendi is a seasoned crypto journalist with four years of professional experience, having contributed significantly to various media outlets on cryptocurrency trends and technologies. With over 4000 published articles across various media outlets, he aims to inform, educate and introduce more people to the Blockchain and DeFi world. Outside of his journalism career, Ronny enjoys the thrill of bike riding, exploring new trails and landscapes.
Disclaimer: The presented content may include the personal opinion of the author and is subject to market condition. Do your market research before investing in cryptocurrencies. The author or the publication does not hold any responsibility for your personal financial loss.
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has published Grayscale’s 19b-4 filing for its Digital Large Cap Fund in the Federal Register. This significant development has officially kickstarted the US SEC’s review process for the asset manager’s application to convert this fund into an ETF.
US SEC Publishes Grayscale’s Filing In Federal Register
Grayscale announced in a press release that the US SEC has published the NYSE’s 19b-4 filing to list and trade its Digital Large Cap Fund as an Exchange-Traded Product (ETP) in the Federal Register.
This formally initiates the review process for the Commission to review and possibly approve the application. As noted in the press release, this review process can take up to 240 days before the regulator must decide whether to approve or deny the application.
If the US SEC approves the NYSE’s proposed rule change, it would be the first time a national securities exchange would list and trade shares of multi-crypto asset ETPs. The SEC’s acknowledgment of the 19b-4 filing just comes around two weeks after the asset manager filed to convert the Digital Large Cap Fund into an ETF.
According to Grayscale, as of November 1, the GDLC currently holds over $530 million in assets under management (AuM) for the fund. The fund holds Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, XRP, and Avalance, which are weighted according to their respective market caps.
Boluwatife Adeyemi
Boluwatife Adeyemi is a well-experienced crypto news writer and editor who has covered topics that cut across DeFi, NFTs, smart contracts, and blockchain interoperability, among others. Boluwatife has a knack for simplifying the most technical concepts and making it easy for crypto newbies to understand. Away from writing, He is an avid basketball lover and a part-time degen.
Disclaimer: The presented content may include the personal opinion of the author and is subject to market condition. Do your market research before investing in cryptocurrencies. The author or the publication does not hold any responsibility for your personal financial loss.
Former SEC official Marc Fagel has voiced concerns over the Securities and Exchange Commission’s recent issuance of a Wells Notice to Immutable, an Ethereum-based Web3 gaming company. Immutable claims that the Wells Notice arrived with limited prior communication or explanation, marking a sharp departure from what is typically a more extensive investigative process.
Fagel commented that it is unusual for the SEC to issue such notices without first conducting a thorough investigation, suggesting that this approach could be “risky.”
Former SEC Official Questions Rapid Wells Notice Issued to Immutable
Immutable announced it had received a sudden Wells Notice from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The notice, which serves as a formal alert for potential enforcement action, cited alleged securities law violations related to private IMX token sales in 2021. However, the specifics of these alleged violations were minimally detailed in the notice, sparking questions about the SEC’s procedural approach.
Former SEC Official Marc Fagel commented on the surprise issuance, noting that it’s uncommon for the agency to send such a notice without preliminary investigation. In typical cases, companies expect several months of interviews or exchanges before receiving a Wells Notice, and Fagel stated that deviating from this standard practice could be seen as “risky.”
In a heated discussion on the X platform, the former SEC official added,
“BTW, it’s hard to believe the SEC would Wells without conducting sufficient investigation to support the claims; way too risky outside the TRO scenario. That said, I’ve heard plenty of anecdotes about the crypto unit dropping a Wells out of the blue, which is kinda scuzzy.”
Wells Notice Reflects SEC’s “Regulation by Enforcement” Strategy
The crypto sector has witnessed similar actions, with companies such as Coinbase, Consensys, and Crypto.com also receiving Wells Notices. The sudden notice aligns with a broader trend criticized as “regulation by enforcement.” Here, the agency proceeds with legal action rather than establishing clear compliance guidelines.
Immutable pointed out that its interaction with the SEC was exceptionally brief before the Wells Notice was issued. More so, they noted that it lacked meaningful explanation, containing fewer than 20 words specifying the alleged securities violations.
The Securities and Exchange Commission approach has caused considerable frustration within the crypto community. Fagel highlighted that the SEC’s surprising strategy of issuing Wells Notices abruptly in the crypto sector has become increasingly common.
ConsenSys Responds to SEC Claims on MetaMask
In parallel, blockchain company ConsenSys recently filed a response to the SEC’s claims regarding alleged securities violations by MetaMask. ConsenSys disputed the allegations, stating that MetaMask’s product embodies essential blockchain principles. It allows users to interact in a decentralized way. The company also reinforced its commitment to defending its product and technology within the legal framework.
Notably, under SEC Chair Gary Gensler, crypto firms have reported heightened compliance burdens. Regulatory enforcement actions have cost the industry an estimated $400 million, according to the Blockchain Association. These reports aligns with what the former SEC official, Marc Fagel, terms as “scuzzy”.
Ronny Mugendi
Ronny Mugendi is a seasoned crypto journalist with four years of professional experience, having contributed significantly to various media outlets on cryptocurrency trends and technologies. With over 4000 published articles across various media outlets, he aims to inform, educate and introduce more people to the Blockchain and DeFi world. Outside of his journalism career, Ronny enjoys the thrill of bike riding, exploring new trails and landscapes.
Disclaimer: The presented content may include the personal opinion of the author and is subject to market condition. Do your market research before investing in cryptocurrencies. The author or the publication does not hold any responsibility for your personal financial loss.
Former Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester recently discussed a potential Fed rate cut at the November FOMC meeting. She said that a 25 basis point (bps) cut seems pretty straightforward at this point and explained why.
A 25bps Fed Rate Cut Is “Pretty Straightforward”
Loretta Mester mentioned during a CNBC interview that a 25 basis point Fed rate cut seems pretty straightforward at this point, considering that inflation has come down quite a bit from its peak even though it is not yet at the US Federal Reserve’s 2% target.
She alluded to all the recent inflation data since the September FOMC meeting, which she claimed doesn’t change the base narrative that inflation has come down and the growing confidence that it will continue to trend downward.
The former Fed president also noted that the unemployment rate is moderating, and the job data shows that the labor market is healthy. As such, she remarked that the Fed should be trying to implement monetary easing policies as the US economy normalizes.
Mester’s comments come amid the release of the US job data, which showed that the non-farm payroll rose by 12,000 in October, lower than the expected 110,000. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate remained unchanged at 4.1%.
Commenting on this, the former Cleveland Fed president said that the lower-than-expected job figures were likely due to the hurricanes in the United States last month. She added that she is glad the unemployment rate remained unchanged as it showed that the US economy isn’t as weak as the non-farm payroll suggested.
Like Mester, traders seem confident that a 25bps Fed rate cut should be the Fed’s next step. FedWatch tool data shows there is a 99.8% probability of the Federal Reserve cutting interest rates by 25 bps at its November FOMC meeting.
The Significance Of The Fed’s Decision
A 25bps Fed rate cut is significant as it could be the catalyst for a Bitcoin price rise past its current all-time high (ATH) of $73,700. Bitcoin and the broader crypto market reacted positively in September following the 50 bps rate cut at the September FOMC meeting.
It is worth mentioning that a Fed Rate cut decision will come just two days after the November 5 US presidential elections. As such, the aftermath of the elections, coupled with a rate cut, is the perfect recipe for a BTC and crypto market rally.
Crypto stakeholders like BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes have suggested that the crypto community should focus even more on the Fed’s decision rather than the US election. Arthur Hayes claimed that the US election outcome won’t impact BTC. Instead, he remarked that money printing and increased US debt issuance could ultimately boost Bitcoin.
However, according to a CoinGape market analysis, the Bitcoin price could suffer an 8% to 13% correction should Kamala Harris win the election. Meanwhile, if Donald Trump wins, BTC could easily surge past its ATH and rise to as high as $80,000.
Boluwatife Adeyemi
Boluwatife Adeyemi is a well-experienced crypto news writer and editor who has covered topics that cut across DeFi, NFTs, smart contracts, and blockchain interoperability, among others. Boluwatife has a knack for simplifying the most technical concepts and making it easy for crypto newbies to understand. Away from writing, He is an avid basketball lover and a part-time degen.
Disclaimer: The presented content may include the personal opinion of the author and is subject to market condition. Do your market research before investing in cryptocurrencies. The author or the publication does not hold any responsibility for your personal financial loss.
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