New York Attorney General Letitia James has filed a lawsuit against cryptocurrency exchange KuCoin for allegedly selling commodities and securities on its platform without necessary registration. The lawsuit claims that KuCoin illegally sold Ether (ETH), Terra (LUNA), and TerraUSD (UST). It argues that these cryptocurrencies represent investments of money in common enterprises with profits to be derived primarily from the efforts of others, which is the criteria for classifying a security under the Howey Test. The lawsuit further claims that Ether was promoted as an investment directly on the Ethereum Foundation’s website, and that the Merge upgrade further established Ether’s security status. The SEC has made various broad statements and insinuations in the past to suggest that Ether is a security, but this is the first major set of charges to formally make the case. Many in the crypto community have disagreed with the NYAG’s allegations, and the SEC has also filed a Wells notice against Paxos in February for issuing its BUSD stablecoin. This lawsuit is likely to have major implications for the cryptocurrency industry, as it could set a precedent for how other cryptocurrencies are classified in the future.
Ethereum Security Status Under Fire
previous post