The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has requested a review of its fine against LBRY, a blockchain-based content sharing platform. The SEC has reviewed LBRY’s financial condition, acknowledging its inability to pay the initial $22 million penalty.
Additionally, due to LBRY’s lack of funds and near-lapse status, the SEC decided to withdraw its restitution claim, which involves the forfeiture of ill-gotten gains. On May 12, the SEC filed a petition in the US District Court in New Hampshire to impose a reduced fine of $111,614 on LBRY.
In response to recent developmentsJohn Deaton, the attorney representing XRP, said the SEC showed a lack of concern for individual investors when it filed a lawsuit against the company. He said that although SEC lawyers acknowledged that a majority of LBRY users had not acquired an investment, the agency declined to provide clarification. Deaton expressed his disappointment, saying “Shame on you” in reference to SEC Chairman Gary Gensler’s failure to protect LBRY users.
He said, “If the SEC cared the least about individual investors and users of the LBRY platform, they would have agreed to fix the secondary sale issue. Instead, the SEC declined to provide clarification although its lawyers agreed that most users had not acquired an investment. The SEC is a disgrace. In response to Deaton, one of the users said: “The SEC destroyed LBRY and now steals everything they can. It’s like stealing a corpse. I hope the judges have morals, at least.
In March 2021, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a lawsuit against LBRY, alleging that the company was offering LBRY Credit Tokens (LBC) without proper registration as securities. LBRY CEO Jeremy Kauffman spoke about the potential ramifications of this lawsuit, as it could set a precedent that classifies a large majority of cryptocurrencies as securities.