The chief legal officer of Coinbase, a popular cryptocurrency exchange, has stated that Ethereum (ETH) should be classified as a commodity rather than a security. This comes as Consensys, a decentralized finance firm, files a lawsuit against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The lawsuit argues that the SEC is expanding its authority arbitrarily and impeding the stability and growth of Ethereum by categorizing it as a security.

In a post, crypto lawyer Paul Grewal expressed his support for Consensys and criticized the SEC’s actions. He stated, “I know ETH is a commodity. You know ETH is a commodity. The CFTC knows ETH is a commodity. It’s time for the SEC to admit that it still knows ETH is a commodity too. No more games. Thank you to Consensys for standing up against the SEC’s unlawful expansion of authority.”

Consensys took to social media platform X to explain the reasons behind their lawsuit. They believe that the SEC’s constantly changing views on blockchain technology and its mischaracterization of Ethereum as an investment scheme are hindering the industry’s progress. They stated, “And it is time the industry stood up for itself. Our action today is intended to protect the Ethereum ecosystem as well as the entirety of the extended decentralized protocol ecosystem.”

The SEC is currently deciding whether to approve or reject proposals for Ethereum exchange-traded funds (ETFs). It was previously reported that a decision would be made by May.

At the time of writing, Ethereum is trading at $3,119, representing a 1.33% decrease in the last 24 hours.