Blockchain startup LBRY filed a Notice of Appeal with the New Hampshire County Court on July 11, 2023.
LBRY has filed a Notice of Appeal against the SEC. pic.twitter.com/Zp9S0TP0Qw
— LBRY 🚀 (@LBRYcom) September 7, 2023
In March 2021, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a lawsuit against a decentralized content publishing platform. The regulator accused LBRY of selling unregistered securities in the form of the LBC token as part of an ICO for $11 million.
According to startup CEO Jeremy Kaufman, the agency has clearly demonstrated that it intends to “damage or destroy the cryptocurrency industry in the United States.”
In November, the court upheld the SEC’s lawsuit against LBRY. The Commission later asked that the crypto startup’s civil penalty be reduced from $22 million to $111,614, explaining that the project would not be able to pay the original claim due to “lack of funds” and “near-out of business status.”
Some experts have drawn parallels with the Ripple case. So, lawyer and adjunct law professor Andrew Rossow said that the verdict in the case with LBRY could set a precedent for a fintech company.
The SEC and Ripple have been involved in a legal battle since 2020. The commission charged the firm with an unregistered sale of securities in the form of XRP worth $1.3 billion.
However, in July 2023, the Court of the Southern District of New York concluded that program sales and other distributions of the token do not constitute the offer and implementation of investment contracts. The SEC then filed an appeal.
In August, the regulator lost the second case against participants in the crypto industry – the court granted the petitions of Grayscale Investments to convert the issued by the company GBTC in ETFs contrary to the position of the Commission.
Recall that after this, a member of the US House of Representatives Warren Davidson called for the removal of Gary Gensler from the post of chairman of the department.
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