Landmark Ruling Marks Major Win for Cryptocurrency, Open-Source Innovation, and Free Speech
In a sweeping legal victory, serial entrepreneur, author, and philanthropist Richard Heart has won the complete dismissal of all claims brought against him by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
U.S. District Judge Carol Bagley Amon granted Richard Heart’s motion to dismiss on February 28, 2025. The SEC had until last Monday, April 21, to amend its complaint and ultimately announced “it does not intend to file an amended complaint in this matter.” These events fully clear Heart and his blockchain products — HEX, PulseChain, and PulseX — of allegations that they constituted unregistered securities and also dismisses claims that Heart misused investor funds.
“Richard Heart, PulseChain, PulseX, and HEX have defeated the SEC completely and have achieved regulatory clarity that nearly no other coins have. They're now safer to work with in ways that almost no other coins are. …this is the only case where the SEC lost and crypto won across the board, with a dismissal in court of every single claim the SEC brought.” —Comments from Richard Heart’s Twitter/X on Monday’s news.
Legal analysts view the ruling as a decisive blow to the SEC’s expansive crypto enforcement strategy — one increasingly criticized for regulatory overreach and repeatedly rebuked by courts as arbitrary and capricious.
The SEC filed suit in July 2023, accusing Heart of raising more than $1 billion through unregistered offerings and spending millions on personal luxuries. In an unusual legal approach, the SEC also named his open-source crypto products — HEX, PulseChain, and PulseX — as codefendants, alleging they were Heart’s “alter egos.”
Judge Carol Bagley Amon of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York rejected the SEC’s arguments in full, ruling that the agency lacked jurisdiction and the offerings were globally accessible but not specifically targeted at the United States. The court also found no substantial connection to domestic securities transactions, stating that the tokens were not sold on U.S. exchanges and that the SEC failed to show any direct marketing to U.S. investors.
The court further dismissed the SEC’s fraud claims in full, finding the agency had failed to demonstrate that any investor communications were misleading or that the alleged misuse of funds occurred within U.S. jurisdiction. As a result, all claims against Heart and his blockchain products were dismissed. The SEC later confirmed it does not intend to amend or refile its complaint, allowing the dismissal to stand and formally closing the case with no findings of wrongdoing.
From the outset, Heart has always maintained that his products fully comply with the law. Now it’s official. This is a landmark win for cryptocurrency, open-source innovation, and free speech.
“This dismissal reinforces that publishing software — especially open-source blockchain code — is protected speech,” said Twitter/X user @NuclearHerbs, a U.S.-based attorney who attended the hearings.
Legal analysts view the ruling as a decisive blow to the SEC’s expansive crypto enforcement strategy — one increasingly criticized for regulatory overreach and repeatedly rebuked by courts as arbitrary and capricious. With all claims dismissed, HEX, PulseChain, and PulseX now carry a level of legal clarity few other tokens enjoy.
Contact
Journalist Taylor Kennedy Freelance TLDRtaylor@protonmail.com
Disclaimer: Press release sponsored by our commercial partners.
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