8 months ago
35 ARTICLE AD
The Ethereum ecosystem's recent Dencun upgrade and the prospects of an Ether ETF coincide with the mysterious probe.
The Ethereum Foundation, a Swiss non-profit organization working for central to the Ethereum ecosystem, is currently under investigation by an unnamed “state authority,” according to a recent update on the group’s GitHub repository. However, further details on the scope of the investigation and the reasons behind it remain undisclosed.
A GitHub commit logged on February 26, 2024, on the Ethereum Foundation’s repository revealed that the organization received a voluntary enquiry “from a state authority” that included a confidentiality requirement. The issue was first raised by an investigative report conducted by the crypto media platform CoinDesk.
The report from CoinDesk refers to a lawyer familiar with the situation, whose statements speculate that a Swiss regulator may have served a document request to the Ethereum Foundation. The same lawyer also extended the speculation by saying that the request in question may also point to a collaboration between the named entity (ostensibly, the Swiss government, in this case) and the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
“I also think it’s fair to say the Ethereum Foundation is not the only entity that they are seeking information from,” the lawyer said, implying that other overseas entities might have received a similar method of scrutiny based on documentary requests.
The investigation comes at a time of significant technological changes for Ethereum, the second-largest blockchain by market capitalization. Following its initial coin offering in 2015, Ethereum recently implemented the Dencun upgrade, designed to reduce transaction costs for users of Ethereum-based layer-2 platforms.
On the regulatory front, the SEC is also currently evaluating multiple applications for an Ether ETF, with a final deadline for some applications approaching on May 23. However, analysts following the process have expressed skepticism about the likelihood of approval, citing a lack of engagement between applicants and SEC officials.
“The Ethereum Foundation (Stiftung Ethereum) has never been contacted by any agency anywhere in the world in a way which requires that contact not to be disclosed. Stiftung Ethereum will publicly disclose any sort of inquiry from government agencies that falls outside the scope of regular business operations,” says a disclosure on the Ethereum Foundation’s website.
This statement is a warrant canary, and it has since been removed from the website, coinciding with the aforementioned GitHub commit.
By definition, a warrant canary is a form of text or visual warning that companies include on their websites to indicate they have never been served with a secret government subpoena or document request. The removal of the canary suggests that the Ethereum Foundation may have received such a request without explicitly stating so.
The SEC recently requested for public comment on proof of stake, the consensus algorithm employed by Ethereum and other blockchains.
The information on or accessed through this website is obtained from independent sources we believe to be accurate and reliable, but Decentral Media, Inc. makes no representation or warranty as to the timeliness, completeness, or accuracy of any information on or accessed through this website. Decentral Media, Inc. is not an investment advisor. We do not give personalized investment advice or other financial advice. The information on this website is subject to change without notice. Some or all of the information on this website may become outdated, or it may be or become incomplete or inaccurate. We may, but are not obligated to, update any outdated, incomplete, or inaccurate information.
Crypto Briefing may augment articles with AI-generated content created by HAL, our proprietary AI platform. We use AI as a tool to deliver fast, valuable and actionable information without losing the insight - and oversight - of experienced crypto natives. All AI augmented content is carefully reviewed, including for factural accuracy, by our editors and writers, and always draws from multiple primary and secondary sources when available to create our stories and articles.
You should never make an investment decision on an ICO, IEO, or other investment based on the information on this website, and you should never interpret or otherwise rely on any of the information on this website as investment advice. We strongly recommend that you consult a licensed investment advisor or other qualified financial professional if you are seeking investment advice on an ICO, IEO, or other investment. We do not accept compensation in any form for analyzing or reporting on any ICO, IEO, cryptocurrency, currency, tokenized sales, securities, or commodities.
