After it was revealed that the SEC was conducting a campaign to classify Ethereum as a security and an investigation was launched against the Ethereum Foundation, Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson, one of the founders of Ethereum, shared his views on the situation.
Hoskinson made his statements following requests from the XRP and Bitcoin community, according to his own statement.
Instead, at the center of the investigation, according to the Cardano founder, is the proposition that Ethereum's transition from the Proof of Work (PoW) consensus mechanism to the Proof of Stake (PoS) consensus mechanism in 2022 actually creates a new cryptocurrency with a new set of facts and conditions.
According to Hoskinson, this perspective seems consistent with statements made during depositions and reports subpoenaed by entities associated with the Ethereum Foundation.
Hoskinson said that the crux of the investigation into Ethereum and the SEC's crackdown is whether ETH has become a security with the launch of PoS, and if so, who is considered its issuer.
Hoskinson joined the Ethereum team in late 2013 as one of the five original founders, along with Vitalik Buterin, and held an executive position. Buterin and the Ethereum team fired Hoskinson in 2014 following a disagreement over whether the project should be commercial (Hoskinson's view) or a non-profit (Buterin's view).
*This is not investment advice.