U.S. Representative William Timmons (R-SC) has written to U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Paul Atkins, requesting specific documents related to the SEC’s historical stance on the cryptocurrency ether ( ETH). The letter, dated June 10, underscores the need for clarity in the digital asset space and highlights what Timmons describes as the SEC’s “zigzagging approach” to ETH’s status as a security.

Timmons notes that in 2018, a high-ranking SEC official publicly stated that ETH was not a security. However, in April 2023 congressional testimony, former SEC Chair Gary Gensler refused to clarify the SEC’s view on ETH’s security status, casting doubt on its designation. This was followed by the approval of a formal investigation into ETH’s security status, titled “In the Matter of ETH 2.0,” days before Gensler’s testimony.

The letter points out that the SEC later approved spot ETH exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in May 2024, an action appropriate only if ETH is not a security, and then concluded the ETH 2.0 investigation in June 2024. These inconsistent actions have caused “destabilizing confusion for millions of American crypto-market participants”. Timmons states:

Disclosure of these documents is essential to ensuring that the digital-asset industry-and the American public-understand the SEC’s historical approach to interpreting and enforcing the securities laws.

The requested documents include emails and attachments related to the “Analysis of Ethereum 2.0 under Howey,” emails sent to former Chair Gensler concerning the ETH 2.0 investigation approval, the case closing narrative for the ETH 2.0 investigation, and emails with subject lines such as “ETH-Security or Not” and “RE Is Ethereum a security.”

These documents were previously identified but withheld by the SEC in response to a FOIA request and lawsuit filed by History Associates on behalf of Coinbase. Timmons asserts:

Disclosing these documents will help Congress, market participants, and the public better understand how and why the SEC’s position on ETH shifted under Chair Gensler.

“It will also bring transparency to the shadow ‘regulation by enforcement’ approach that, for years under the prior Administration, hindered innovation and growth across the crypto industry,” the lawmaker stressed.

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