Ethereum Foundation experienced a significant development. According to the announcement, an unnamed state authority is investigating the foundation. The details and focus of the investigation were unknown at the time of writing. The Ethereum Foundation did not respond to a request for comment following this event.
Ethereum Foundation Under Scrutiny
The investigation comes amid technological advancements within the Ethereum ecosystem. Ethereum is the second-largest blockchain and cryptocurrency by market value after Bitcoin.
Earlier this month, the Ethereum chain saw the successful implementation of a significant technical upgrade named Dencun, designed to reduce transaction costs for users of Ethereum-based layer-2 platforms, garnering attention once again.
Meanwhile, investors in the US and then globally continue to anticipate the final decision on spot Ethereum ETFs.
While all this was happening, the following statement previously found on the Ethereum Foundation’s website was noteworthy:
The Ethereum Foundation (Stiftung Ethereum) has never been in contact with any agency anywhere in the world that would require this contact to be kept secret. Stiftung Ethereum will publicly disclose any inquiries from government agencies that fall outside the scope of normal business operations.
Looking at the change log, the footnote above was removed from the website during a GitHub operation on February 26, along with the search warrant section.
A search warrant document is typically a text or visual warning added to websites by some companies to state that they have never received a secret government subpoena or document request.
If a government agency requests information, a company can remove this text and indicate that they have received the request without explicitly stating so. The Ethereum Foundation’s search warrant document was previously removed from the website by mistake in 2019 but was quickly reinstated.
Potential Developments in Ethereum
A lawyer interested in the matter commented on the situation. In his statement, he suggested that a Swiss regulator might have requested documents from the Ethereum Foundation and could be working in conjunction with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
The lawyer stated:
I think it’s also correct to say that the Ethereum Foundation is not the only entity they have requested information from.
While all this is happening, the SEC continues to evaluate multiple applications for a spot Ethereum ETF. However, analysts believe that the process is becoming increasingly pessimistic. All eyes are now on the final deadline of one of the applications, May 23.
Meanwhile, the price of ETH experienced a sharp decline. After a rise in Bitcoin‘s price today, Ethereum’s price also saw an increase.
Following the recent news, the price suddenly dropped from the $3,400 level to the $3,300 region but recovered to trade at $3,326.
Whether the decline will deepen in the coming minutes is already a matter of curiosity.
