Coinbase Disclosure Documents Show New York Attorney General Asked the US SEC to Classify ETH as a Security

Coinbase recently obtained and publicly disclosed a batch of internal communication documents from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), which showed that the New York State Attorney General's Office requested the SEC to clarify its classification of Ethereum (ETH) as a security during the lawsuit against KuCoin in 2023.

Shamiso Maswoswe, Director of the New York Investor Protection Bureau, expressed in a letter the hope that the SEC would submit an amicus brief supporting the view that ETH is a security to enhance investor protection. However, the SEC ultimately did not accept this request, but the documents revealed internal discussions within the regulatory agency on the classification of ETH, especially after Ethereum transitioned to a PoS consensus mechanism. Coinbase stated that this disclosure aims to increase regulatory transparency and promote public understanding of cryptocurrency regulatory policies.