Insinuating that Ether should be looked into as a security, the chair of the US House Financial Services Committee made reference to allegations made in Consensys's most recent complaint against the SEC.

The head of the US House Financial Services Committee, Patrick McHenry, has accused Gary Gensler, the chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission, of "knowingly misleading Congress" regarding the agency's purported attempts to categorise Ether ETH.$2,991 as a safeguard.

Representative McHenry asserted in an April 30 X post that Gensler purposefully mislead lawmakers during his testimony before the Committee. The U.S. legislator brought up allegations made in a recent court document by Consensys, a software development company that sued the SEC on April 25.

The first complaint filed by Consensys in the Northern District of Texas U.S. District Court brought to light public inconsistencies in the SEC’s approach to digital assets as securities, specifically Ether.

Unredacted sections of the filing appeared on the court docket on April 29, suggesting that the SEC launched an investigation into ETH as security in March 2023.

Gensler appeared before the House Financial Services Committee in April 2023, pivoting or ducking direct questions from McHenry on whether Ether fell under the SEC’s or the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (CFTC) purview.

The timing of his testimony suggested that the SEC may have already considered Ether a security.

“Clearly, an asset cannot be both a commodity and a security,” said McHenry in the Committee hearing. “I’m asking you, sitting in your chair now [...] is Ether a commodity or a security?”

The SEC's decision to approve or reject spot Ether exchange-traded funds on US exchanges could have consequences if it continues along a route that puts it at odds with the CFTC over ether.

October 2023 saw the SEC start authorising investment vehicles linked to ETH futures; many analysts predict that the agency will choose an Ether ETF in May.

Taking advantage of the occasion, McHenry urged Congress to back the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act (FIT21), which would create clear guidelines for the CFTC and SEC.

In July 2023, the bill was voted out of committee and is scheduled for a full House of Representatives floor vote.