A federal judge has approved a timeline for the court to consider the merits of the lawsuit filed by software company Consensys against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and its commissioners.
In a July 1 filing in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Judge Reed O’Connor set deadlines requiring SEC and Consensys attorneys to file opening and opposition briefs by September and November, respectively.
In addition, the judge granted the SEC a 28-day extension to respond to the complaint.
Timeline
According to the timeline, all five SEC commissioners and the regulator must file their responses by July 29, with response briefs due by November 26.
Consensys senior adviser and director of global regulatory affairs Bill Hughes said in a July 2 social media post that he expects a ruling on the case around December. He listened to a Christmas carol and wrote:
“It’s starting to look more and more like Christmas.”
Consensys filed a lawsuit against the SEC in April, claiming the regulator was “illegitimate” by attempting to take control of the “future of crypto” through enforcement actions aimed at regulating Ethereum (ETH) as a security asset .
In June, Consensys reported that the SEC had ended its investigation into ETH. However, the SEC subsequently filed its own lawsuit, alleging that Consensys had been trading as an unregistered broker.
SEC authority
Legal experts in the crypto sector are closely watching the civil case because of its potential implications for the SEC’s regulatory authority. The watchdog is currently embroiled in several ongoing lawsuits against other crypto companies, including Coinbase, Binance and Ripple Labs.
Commissioner Mark Uyeda, also named in the Consensys lawsuit, described the SEC’s approach to crypto regulation as “problematic” in a separate statement on July 1.
The SEC and Consensys lawsuits were filed before the U.S. Supreme Court issued two opinions that could affect how the commission handles enforcement cases. One opinion determined that defendants in SEC civil cases involving securities fraud are entitled to a jury trial, while another opinion requires courts to assess whether a federal agency such as the SEC acted within its statutory authority.
The outcome of this case could have significant implications for the regulatory landscape of cryptocurrencies and the SEC’s future enforcement strategies.