The cryptocurrency firm LBRY announced its intention to appeal a New Hampshire court’s finding that it had neglected to register with the SEC.The blockchain-based file-sharing network sold native LBRY credits (LBC), which the company insisted were not securities, in violation of federal securities laws, according to the SEC’s lawsuit, which was filed in 2022.The SEC was awarded a victory by a New Hampshire judge in November, and the final judgment was submitted on July 11.After the decision, LBRY said that it will close.
LBRY is subject to a $111,614 fine as a result of the decision.This was reduced from $22 million in May by the regulator who cited the company’s “near-defunct status.”The corporation was also “permanently restrained and enjoined from” directly or indirectly taking part in any unregistered crypto securities offering or in violating federal securities laws.Over the sale of $1.3 billion in XRP coins, blockchain platform Ripple Labs is dealing with identical SEC claims.Legal professionals have told CoinDesk that a federal judge’s partial ruling in favor of Ripple in July – that programmatic sales of XRP to retail investors through exchanges did not violate securities law, but direct sales of XRP to institutional investors did – may give hope to other businesses involved in related cases.
On Thursday, LBRY announced on its X (previously Twitter) account that it intended to appeal the decision.According to CoinGecko data, LBC has decreased by around 6% to $0.013 over the last day.