Crypto podcaster David Hoffman spread (and then retracted) a rumor that the SEC had delivered a Wells Notice to the decentralized staking service. A spokesperson for Lido declined to comment.
Lido’s LDO token tanked 10% on Saturday following a rumor that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) served the largest Ethereum staking service with a Wells Notice.
A Lido spokesperson declined to comment on whether the protocol had received a notice.
A Wells Notice is a letter from the SEC detailing charges it is considering bringing against a recipient. On Friday, David Hoffman of the Bankless crypto podcast said that he’d heard Lido and other crypto projects had been served with Wells Notices, an assertion he later retracted.The rumor sparked panic on crypto Twitter, however, and it quickly spread across the Colorado convention hall where ETHDenver, one of the year’s largest crypto industry gatherings, was underway. The rumors, if proven true, would suggest that the SEC is ramping up scrutiny of Ethereum and crypto staking.