Crypto industry cheers as SEC must pay $1.8 million for ‘gross abuse’ of power

The Securities and Exchange Commission suffered another blow in its anti-cryptocurrency campaign after a judge. Bespeak Regulators must pay $1.8 million after lawsuit against DEBT Box fails.

Last year, the SEC charge Cryptocurrency mining company DEBT Box “lied to investors” with a “fraudulent scheme” to raise $50 million in Bitcoin and Ethereum.

Yesterday, Utah District Court Judge Robert Shelby ruled the case was foolish and that regulators must shell out cash to cover legal costs. The verdict came after the judge. said It said in March that the SEC’s actions were “an abuse of authority delegated by Congress.”

Miguel Francis-Santiago, DEBT Box’s chief marketing officer, declared it a “landmark victory.” decryption This wasn’t just a win for the company, it was “a win for the entire Web3 industry.”

He added, “The era of the United States becoming a digital desert must end.” “We have fallen behind on the world stage. “If we don’t change this, America will be left behind.”

Laura Sanders, policy advisor at the non-profit Blockchain Association, said: decryption “We hope that this legal penalty will have the intended effect of discouraging the SEC from using unfair and deceptive tactics against the targets of its enforcement actions.”

Amanda Tuminelli, Chief Legal Officer of the DeFi Education Fund, said: decryption Judge Shelby could have gone further by dismissing the case with prejudice. Nonetheless, she said it’s likely the court will adopt the DEBT Box if the case is retried.

“The judge imposed an important condition on the SEC in his dismissal order: If the SEC decides to refile this case against the same defendants, they must do so before Judge Shelby,” Tuminelli explained. “And we know Judge Shelby will not forget what happened in the first place.”

The SEC, under longtime Chairman Gary Gensler, has been relentless in cracking down on the cryptocurrency industry, filing lawsuits against numerous companies in recent years for allegedly selling unregistered securities.

However, there was also criticism from both industry and lawmakers that it was too harsh.

In a surprise vote last week, both Democrats and Republicans voted This is a call for a clearer regulatory framework for the cryptocurrency sector. This is something the industry has been seeking from the SEC for several years.

Today, Minnesota Representative Tom Emmer gave a cold response to the outcome of the DEBT Box case.

“Gary Gensler is making the most of American taxpayer dollars,” he said. wrote.

Edited by Ryan Ozawa.