SEC Dismisses Major Crypto Lawsuit in Latest Move: What’s Next?

In the latest development, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has dropped its lawsuit against blockchain project Dragonchain as the agency makes a U-turn on its regulation-by-enforcement approach.

The update was revealed by Eleanor Terrett, a former Fox Business correspondent and journalist at CryptoAmerica.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has reached an agreement with Dragonchain, agreeing to drop its ongoing litigation against the company, Terrett reported. The move is consistent with the SEC’s current approach to cryptocurrency, which has seen the agency halt enforcement actions and investigations.

Related

In recent months, the securities watchdog has dropped or paused several lawsuits against cryptocurrency companies, including some involving some of the industry’s most prominent players. The ongoing tally includes high-profile litigation against cryptocurrency exchanges Coinbase and Binance, which were sued a day apart in mid-2023, as well as threats of legal action against Robinhood, Uniswap and OpenSea. Last month, Ripple revealed that the SEC was dropping its case against the crypto company.

What’s happening?

The SEC filed its lawsuit against Dragonchain in 2022, accusing the project of engaging in an unregistered securities offering through its 2017 initial coin offering (ICO), which purportedly raised millions of dollars. According to the regulator, Dragonchain’s DRGN token meets the definition of a security under the Howey test.

Related

In a joint filing on Thursday, the SEC and Dragonchain asked the court to dismiss the 2022 case, noting the agency’s continuing Crypto Task Force work. The task force, which was formed in January, is now meeting with the industry through a series of roundtables to provide direction on how digital assets may or may not be subject to federal securities regulations.

Eyes are currently peeled on SEC Chair Paul Atkins’ remarks at the SEC roundtable set for today, April 25, from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. ET. The newly appointed SEC chair will address the crypto community at the agency’s third industry roundtable on crypto trading, the first since his nomination in December.