The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission sued Consensys and says the firm has failed to register as a broker through its MetaMask swaps service.

Consensys also violated the law through its MetaMask staking service, the SEC said in a complaint filed on Friday in the U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of New York."

Consensys engaged in the unregistered offer and sale of securities in the form of crypto asset staking programs, and acted as an unregistered broker, through its MetaMask Staking service, the agency said. By its conduct as an unregistered broker, Consensys has collected over $250 million in fees," it added.

In the complaint, the agency also said that Lido and Rocket Pool's staking services were securities. "Specifically, as described in more detail below, investors …