Thousands of internal SEC communications made public by Coinbase have revealed new insights into how U.S. regulators debated classifying major cryptocurrencies, including XRP and ETH.
The documents, obtained through Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, show that the SEC’s internal discussions raised concerns about XRP’s dependency on Ripple, while also confirming that New York’s Attorney General actively pushed for the SEC to support its position that Ether should be treated as a security.
New York Sought Federal Backing Against ETH
In a June 2023 email, Shamiso Maswoswe, who heads the Investor Protection Bureau under the New York Attorney General’s office, directly contacted the SEC. She asked that the agency submit a legal brief supporting the argument that ETH meets the definition of a security.
This request was made in connection with New York’s lawsuit against crypto exchange KuCoin, which the state accused of violating securities and commodities laws. Maswoswe said investor protection could improve if Ether were deemed a security.
Though ETH’s status wouldn’t affect the case’s outcome, she noted that a favorable ruling could set legal precedent and support the broader classification of crypto assets under securities laws.