Texas apparel maker Beba and the DeFi Education Fund have voluntarily withdrawn their 2024 pre-enforcement lawsuit against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission over the agency’s treatment of token airdrops, citing recent shifts in the SEC’s public posture on crypto.
Beba ran a free token distribution in March 2024 and, together with the DeFi Education Fund, challenged the SEC’s digital-asset enforcement approach. The original complaint argued the SEC had effectively set policy through enforcement without engaging in Administrative Procedure Act notice-and-comment rulemaking.
In a voluntary dismissal filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, the plaintiffs pointed to the SEC Crypto Task Force’s work and statements from Commissioner Hester Peirce suggesting airdropped tokens may not be securities. The filing also notes Peirce’s May comment that the agency is considering an exemption framework for airdrops and references a January White House executive action urging a ‘‘safe harbor’’ for certain airdrops.
The DeFi Education Fund said on X that, given the task force’s work and recent speeches indicating a possible change in the Commission’s stance, continuing the suit was unnecessary for now and they reserve the right to refile if needed. The dismissal was entered without prejudice, preserving Beba’s and the Fund’s ability to bring the claims again if expected guidance does not materialize or is insufficient, the plaintiffs’ lawyers wrote.
The move reflects a broader shift at the SEC since former Chair Gary Gensler left the agency on Jan. 20, 2025. The Commission has signaled a softer approach in some areas of crypto enforcement and has dropped several long-running actions. One recent example cited by observers is the SEC’s decision to drop a two-year lawsuit against Nader Al-Naji, the founder of the BitClout platform, who was accused of raising more than $257 million through token sales.
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