Texas apparel firm Beba and crypto lobby DeFi Education Fund have withdrawn their 2024 pre-enforcement lawsuit against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission over its treatment of airdrops, citing a recent softening in the regulator’s approach to crypto.
Beba ran a free token airdrop in March 2024 and, with the DeFi Education Fund, challenged the SEC that year. The suit argued the agency implemented its digital asset enforcement policy without following the Administrative Procedure Act’s notice-and-comment rulemaking requirements.
A voluntary dismissal filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas on Friday pointed to work by the SEC Crypto Task Force and remarks by Commissioner Hester Peirce last year indicating airdropped tokens may not be securities. The filing also notes Peirce’s May comment that the SEC is considering an exemption framework for airdrops and references a January White House executive action urging the agency to establish a “safe harbor for certain airdrops.”
“Given the good work done by the SEC Crypto Task Force and recent speeches that suggest a change in the Commission’s position regarding free airdrops, we decided continuing [the case] was unnecessary for the time being and we can re-file if we need to later on,” the DeFi Education Fund said in a post on X. “The DEF team expects that the SEC Crypto Task Force will address airdrops soon—the foundational issue at hand in this lawsuit.”
Source: DeFi Education Fund
Case dismissed without prejudice, for now
The dismissal was without prejudice, preserving Beba’s and the DeFi Education Fund’s right to refile. “Should the expected guidance fail to materialize or be insufficient, Plaintiffs preserve their right to refile their claims,” the plaintiffs’ lawyers wrote in the court filing.
SEC’s evolving stance on crypto
Under former SEC Chair Gary Gensler, the agency faced criticism for shaping policy through enforcement actions and settlements rather than formal rulemaking. Since Gensler resigned on Jan. 20, 2025, the SEC has signaled a shift, including dropping several long-running enforcement actions against crypto firms.
In a notable recent example, the SEC dropped a two-year lawsuit against Nader Al-Naji, founder of the BitClout platform, who had been accused of raising more than $257 million through token sales and spending over $7 million on personal items.
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