What Happens if the SEC Classifies ETH a Security？ (Wrong Answers Only)

It came to light yesterday that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is likely looking to reclassify Ethereum‘s native token, ether (ETH), as a security. Not everyone believes this to be the case, and so far the SEC has deferred answering definitively on whether there is an ongoing probe — just like how the agency has punted the can on saying definitively that ETH is or isn’t a security.

昨天有消息称，美国证券交易委员会（sec）可能会考虑将以太坊的原生代币以太币（eth）重新归类为证券。并非所有人都相信情况如此，而且到目前为止，sec 尚未明确回答是否正在进行调查——就像该机构如何明确回答 eth 是或不是证券一样。

This is an excerpt from The Node newsletter, a daily roundup of the most pivotal crypto news on CoinDesk and beyond. You can subscribe to get the full newsletter here.

这是 node 时事通讯的摘录，该时事通讯是 coindesk 及其他领域最关键的加密货币新闻的每日综述。您可以在此处订阅以获取完整的新闻通讯。

A number of digital asset lawyers have said the “voluntary inquiry” the Ethereum Foundation copped to in its Github repository is no cause for alarm. Subpoenaing crypto companies is a normal course of business in this industry. And the Ethereum Foundations canary — a reference to “canaries in coal mines,” which indicates whether a government has probed a website — had to come down eventually.

许多数字资产律师表示，以太坊基金会在其 github 存储库中进行的“自愿调查”并不值得惊慌。传唤加密货币公司是该行业的正常业务流程。以太坊基金会的金丝雀——指的是“煤矿里的金丝雀”，表明政府是否已经调查过某个网站——最终不得不被取消。

“It is very difficult to know, from what has been publicly disclosed thus far, the nature of the government inquiry that has been sent to the Ethereum Foundation or whether the Foundation is the target of that investigation,” Preston Byrne, managing partner of Byrne & Storm, P.C., told CoinDesk in an email.

byrne 管理合伙人 preston byrne 表示：“从迄今为止公开披露的内容来看，很难知道向以太坊基金会发出的政府调查的性质，或者该基金会是否是调查的目标。” pc storm 在一封电子邮件中告诉 coindesk。

Byrne said that it is “unlikely” that the Ethereum Foundation “is the target of the investigation.” However, taking it as a given that there is an ongoing probe, a few questions remain. For instance, its not yet clear why exactly the SEC would sue the creators of Ethereum nearly 10 years after its launch and after hundreds of billions of dollars have accrued to the network.

伯恩表示，以太坊基金会“不太可能”成为调查目标。然而，鉴于调查正在进行中，仍然存在一些问题。例如，目前还不清楚为什么美国证券交易委员会会在以太坊推出近 10 年后、在该网络积累了数千亿美元之后起诉以太坊的创建者。

Does the investigation pertain to Ethereums initial coin offering and token distribution or its switch to the staking security model？ How is it that a U.S. securities regulator has jurisdiction over an organization based in Zug, Switzerland？ Will the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), which oversees a booming ETH futures market, push back？

此次调查是否涉及以太坊首次代币发行和代币分配，或者是否转向质押安全模式？美国证券监管机构为何对总部位于瑞士楚格的组织拥有管辖权？美国商品期货交易委员会（cftc）会不会，监管着蓬勃发展的 eth 期货市场，反击？

As to why crypto companies are being asked about their dealings with the Ethereum Foundation, Byrne offered two plausible causes: either the SEC is trying to classify ETH as a security to force the hand of U.S. spot exchanges to de-list the token or to support its case for denying much-demanded spot ether exchange traded funds (ETFs).

至于为什么加密公司被问及与以太坊基金会的交易，byrne 提供了两个可能的原因：要么 sec 试图将 eth 归类为证券，以迫使美国现货交易所将代币下架，要么支持这是拒绝急需的以太币现货交易所交易基金（etf）的理由。

Neither motivation would “necessarily also require the SEC to bring an enforcement action against the foundation,” Byrne added.

伯恩补充说，这两种动机“都不一定要求美国证券交易委员会对该基金会采取执法行动”。

See also: Why the SEC Shouldn't Classify ETH as a Security| Opinion

另请参阅：为什么 sec 不应将 eth 归类为证券|观点

But say there is a lawsuit. Say ETH is a security (despite good reasons saying no). What exactly happens then？ Ethereum is the second-largest blockchain by value ($414 billion at today‘s prices), and the home of most of the digital asset industry’s most used tools — classifying ETH as a security would likely cause chaos. With a move this big, it is entirely unpredictable where the cards will ultimately fall.

但说有诉讼。假设 eth 是一种证券（尽管有充分的理由说不是）。那么到底会发生什么？以太坊是价值第二大的区块链（按今天的价格计算为 4140 亿美元），也是大多数数字资产行业最常用工具的所在地 - 将 eth 归类为证券可能会引起混乱。如此大的举动，最终牌将落在哪里是完全无法预测的。

The Demerge …

分离…

One of the more unlikely responses is that Ethereum, which switched to a proof-of-stake algorithm that rewards tokens to users who lock up their tokens to secure the network, could revert back to the mining model pioneered by Bitcoin. This in itself is unlikely; it took Ethereum developers at and outside of the Ethereum Foundation years to switch to staking.

更不可能的反应之一是，以太坊可能会恢复到比特币开创的挖矿模式，它转向了一种权益证明算法，向锁定代币以保护网络安全的用户奖励代币。这本身是不可能的；以太坊基金会内外的以太坊开发者花了数年时间才转向 stake。

Vitalik Buterin came up with the idea for Ethereum in 2013, and, even back then, he figured the blockchain would likely need to switch to staking, a “consensus model” that was at the time in its infancy. It was only in 2020, five years after the network actually launched, that the first tangible step towards Ethereum staking was taken with the launch of the Beacon chain.

vitalik buterin 在 2013 年提出了以太坊的想法，即使在那时，他也认为区块链可能需要转向 stake，这是一种当时还处于起步阶段的“共识模型”。直到 2020 年，即该网络实际启动五年后，随着信标链的推出，以太坊质押迈出了切实的第一步。

Ethereum developers deployed and refigured a number of testnets to experiment with switching to staking over several years, and a “de-merge” would likely take as long.

以太坊开发人员部署并重新构建了许多测试网，以尝试在几年内转向质押，而“分离”可能需要同样长的时间。

Part of the issue, apart from the scaling and cost benefits of staking is that mining is a purposefully energy-intensive process, and one that developers were happy to say goodbye to. After “the Merge,” it is theorized that Etheruem‘s energy consumption declined 99% — shutting down critics of crypto’s environmental footprint.

除了质押的规模和成本效益之外，问题的一部分还在于挖矿是一个有目的地消耗能源的过程，而开发商很乐意告别这一过程。 “合并”之后，理论上 etheruem 的能源消耗下降了 99%——平息了对加密货币环境足迹的批评。

“Its impossible for me to see any outcome as you point out that would result in something like a merge,” Paul Brody, head of blockchain at EY, told CoinDesk.

安永区块链主管保罗·布罗迪 (paul brody) 告诉 coindesk：“我不可能看到任何像你指出的那样会导致合并之类的结果。”

ETH PoW Powered Up

eth pow 启动

Ethereum is Ethereum and Ethereum Classic is Ethereum Classic, even if Ethereum Classic (ETC) actually maintains the “original, unaltered” history of the blockchain. But what if Ethereum Classic, from which Ethereum was forked, becomes the conical chain？ This would certainly be an easier solution than the “Demerge,” considering the network is already running.

以太坊是以太坊，以太坊经典是以太坊经典，即使以太坊经典（etc）实际上维护了区块链的“原始的、未改变的”历史。但是，如果以太坊分叉的以太坊经典成为圆锥链呢？考虑到网络已经在运行，这肯定是比“分离”更简单的解决方案。

Sure, Ethereum Classic has experienced a number of faith-busting re-orgs, but readopting Ethereum‘s lovelorn sibling could answer SEC Chairman Gary Gensler’s apparent concerns over staking. So would the alternative to the alternative Ethereum: EthereumPoW (ETHW), the fork that launched during the Merge to retain proof-of-work.

当然，以太坊经典经历了多次破坏信仰的重组，但重新采用以太坊失恋的兄弟可以解决 sec 主席加里·詹斯勒 (gary gensler) 对质押的明显担忧。以太坊的替代方案也是如此：ethereumpow (ethw)，它是在合并期间推出的用于保留工作量证明的分叉。

Neither ETC nor ETHW has rallied much on news of the SEC‘s potential investigation, indicating their rapid adoption is unlikely. But it’s not impossible. Afterall, Buterin did admit that ETC was “a totally fine chain.”

etc 和 ethw 都没有因为 sec 可能进行调查的消息而大幅上涨，这表明它们不太可能被迅速采用。但这并非不可能。毕竟，buterin 确实承认 etc 是“一条非常好的链”。

One notable downside of this, among many, is that Etheruem‘s founders would likely maintain massive stakes of ETC or ETHW tokens, mirroring the state of their ETH holdings at the time of the two forks. It’s not clear whether or not the SEC is concerned about Ethereums token issuance, which distributed valuable tokens to the founding team and the Ethereum Foundation. But the agency has said in the past such disbursements resemble investment contracts.

其中一个显着的缺点是 etheruem 的创始人可能会持有大量 etc 或 ethw 代币，这反映了他们在两次分叉时持有的 eth 的状态。目前尚不清楚 sec 是否担心以太坊代币发行，以太坊代币向创始团队和以太坊基金会分发了有价值的代币。但该机构过去曾表示，此类支出类似于投资合同。

XRP wins？

xrp赢了？

The XRP Army has been waiting for a moment like this for years. Although not as visible a conflict as Ethereum versus Solana or Bitcoin versus Everyone, many XRP stans absolutely despise Ethereum. The history here likely stems from Bill Hinman, the former head of the agencys division of corporation finance, declaring that ETH was not a security because it was “sufficiently decentralized.”The XRP Army, backing its own project, has seen that intervention as unfairly picking winners in the crypto market, privileging one project for special consideration while downing others that look quite similar.

xrp 大军多年来一直在等待这样的时刻。虽然不像以太坊与 solana 或比特币与everyone 那样明显的冲突，但许多 xrp 斯坦绝对鄙视以太坊。这里的历史很可能源于公司财务机构部门前负责人 bill hinman，他宣称 eth 不是证券，因为它“足够去中心化”。支持自己项目的 xrp 军队认为这种干预是不公平的在加密货币市场中选出赢家，给予一个项目特殊考虑，同时压制其他看起来非常相似的项目。

Over the years, XRP champions, including Ripple Labs CEO Brad Garlinghouse, have argued that Ethereum is “Chinese controlled”; that Vitalik Buterin could be co-opted by the Chinese Communist Party; and that the network itself was “cherry-picked” to win by U.S. authorities. Of course, Buterin didnt win himself any favors when responding to these accusations by calling XRP a “sh*tcoin.”

多年来，xrp 的拥护者，包括 ripple labs 首席执行官 brad garlinghouse，一直认为以太坊是“中国控制的”； vitalik buterin 可能会被中国共产党拉拢；该网络本身是美国当局“精挑细选”获胜的。当然，buterin 在回应这些指控时称 xrp 为“sh*tcoin”，并没有为自己赢得任何好处。

See also: Why the XRP Army Keeps Fighting

另请参阅： xrp 军队为何继续战斗

One thing XRP has going for it is that, unlike most cryptocurrencies, there is actually a little legal clarity surrounding that asset after Ripple Labs fought back in court against the SEC, and won a few concessions from the presiding judge. XRP itself is not a token, and exchange trades with it are not securities transactions, though Ripples programmatic sales to qualified buyers were investment contracts.

xrp 的优点之一是，与大多数加密货币不同，在 ripple labs 在法庭上对 sec 进行反击并赢得主审法官的一些让步后，该资产实际上有一些法律明确性。 xrp 本身不是代币，与其进行的交易所交易也不是证券交易，尽管 ripple 向合格买家进行的程序化销售是投资合约。

“It is the characteristics of the sale or offer for sale that make something an investment contract, not necessarily which cryptocurrency it is. ETH is sold on public exchanges without advertising,” Christa Laser, a law professor at Cleveland State University, told CoinDesk. The SEC is likely targeting only staking rewards, but it will need to show that there is a central promoter.

使某物成为投资合同的是销售或要约销售的特征，而不一定是哪种加密货币。克利夫兰州立大学法学教授 christa laser 告诉 coindesk，eth 在公共交易所出售，没有广告。 sec 可能只针对质押奖励，但需要证明有一个核心推动者。

Genslers reputation, tarnished again

gensler的声誉再次受损

In fact, one possible outcome of the SEC going after ETH is another major loss for the agency in court. As former CFTC Commissioner Brian Quintenz said yesterday, the SEC already implicitly said ETH was a commodity after it allowed the launch of ETH futures and ETH futures ETFs in the U.S. Further, countless U.S. investors, businesses and individuals have acted on the SECs signals over the years that ETH is not a security.

事实上，sec 追查 eth 的一个可能结果是该机构在法庭上的另一项重大损失。正如前 cftc 委员 brian quintenz 昨天所说，sec 在允许在美国推出 eth 期货和 eth 期货 etf 后，已经含蓄地表示 eth 是一种商品。此外，无数美国投资者、企业和个人已经根据 sec 的信号采取了行动。多年以来，人们一直认为 eth 不是一种证券。

Add to this that there is a growing acknowledgment that Genslers SEC has been unfair in its legal fight with the crypto industry. Instead of devising comprehensive regulations that actually account for the differences between decentralized protocols and traditional ways of doing business, he has launched lawsuit after lawsuit against companies that add — rather than detract value — from the U.S. economy.

除此之外，越来越多的人承认 genslers sec 在与加密行业的法律斗争中是不公平的。他没有制定全面的法规来真正考虑去中心化协议和传统经营方式之间的差异，而是对那些为美国经济增加而不是减少价值的公司发起了一场又一场诉讼。

This “lawfare” hasn‘t always worked out for Gensler. Just recently, a U.S. federal judge called out the SEC’s “gross abuse of the power” for “deliberately perpetuating falsehoods” in its dispute with crypto firm DEBT Box. This is on top of the unprecedented shutdown by a three-judge appeals panel that called out the agencys yearslong denial of spot bitcoin ETFs arbitrary and capricious.

这种“法律”对詹斯勒来说并不总是有效。就在最近，一位美国联邦法官指责 sec 在与加密货币公司 debt box 的纠纷中“严重滥用权力”，“故意制造谎言”。在此之前，一个由三名法官组成的上诉小组史无前例地关闭，该小组称该机构多年来否认比特币现货 etf 的行为是任意且反复无常的。

In short: If its true the SEC is trying to build a case for denying spot ETH ETFs by going after the underlying asset, it better have a good justification.

简而言之：如果 sec 确实试图通过追查标的资产来建立拒绝现货 eth etf 的理由，那么最好有充分的理由。