Consensys has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) tied to the regulation of the Ethereum blockchain, the crypto firm said on Thursday.

The regulation of the industry has become a contentious issue as the sector's biggest companies, including Coinbase Global, allege the SEC does not have jurisdiction on the grounds that crypto tokens are not securities.

The U.S. markets watchdog has been "attempting to unlawfully regulate ether through ad hoc enforcement actions against Consensys and possibly others," Consensys complaint alleged.

Consensys said it was looking for the court's confirmation that the SEC does not have legal authority to regulate the user-controlled software interfaces built on Ethereum, or the Ethereum blockchain.

The SEC does not currently regulate the crypto asset. It has yet to approve multiple applications of exchange-traded funds seeking to track its spot price. (Reporting by Manya Saini in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)