- The agency claims to have control over the network because the US hosts 45% of the existing nodes. Investors were worried.
- This comes as the SEC filed a lawsuit against crypto influencer Ian Balina for failing to register his digital assets ahead of his 2018 ICO offering.
- “The ETH sent to Balina was validated by a network of nodes on the Ethereum blockchain, which are clustered more densely in the United States than in any other country. As a result, those transactions took place in the United States,” the document says.
- Recently the SEC has been at the center of public opinion after making quite arbitrary statements in relation to cryptocurrencies.
Through a controversial statement, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has claimed control over the Ethereum network, causing uncertainty among investors.
According to the organization, 45% of the validation nodes of the Ethereum blockchain, which recently switched to a PoS model, are in the United States, so they have jurisdiction over the transactions carried out on the network.
This comes after the SEC filed a lawsuit against crypto influencer Ian Balina on Monday, September 19, for failing to register his digital assets ahead of his 2018 ICO offering.
“The ETH sent to Balina was validated by a network of nodes on the Ethereum blockchain, which are clustered more densely in the United States than in any other country. As a result, those transactions took place in the United States.”
The SEC document said.
According to Etherscan data, the second highest node density is in Germany, at 19%. Further behind are Singapore and France, with 4.5% each. However, the SEC considers that the only one with jurisdiction is the United States as it has the highest percentage.
dangerous background
Recently the SEC has been at the center of public opinion after making quite arbitrary statements in relation to cryptocurrencies.
For example, the agency classified several cryptocurrencies listed and traded on Coinbase as securities and opened an investigation against these and other platforms operating in the United States.
Its president, Gary Gensler, had clarified that most cryptocurrencies could perfectly qualify as securities according to current laws, taking the controversy even further by defending this legal framework today despite the fact that it dates from the year 1930. Later, indicated that cryptocurrencies based on a PoS consensus algorithm could also qualify as securities.
