Briefly,
- Richard Heart, founder of Hex, has won his case against the Securities and Exchange Commission.
- After a federal court dismissed the case, in February, the regulator did not file an amended complaint.
- Heart continues to be the target of Interpol’s red alert over allegations of assault and tax fraud.
Richard Heart says he has "defeated the SEC completely" after the U.S. regulator abandoned its fraud lawsuit against him.
The crypto entrepreneur—who founded HEX, PulseChain and PulseX—had been accused of selling unregistered securities and misleading investors.
A federal judge dismissed the case in February after concluding that the SEC had failed to prove Heart's statements specifically targeted American consumers.
The regulator had until April 21st to submit an amended complaint. However, it confirmed today that they intend to give up the case.
In a tweet, Heart claimed that he and his projects "have achieved regulatory clarity that nearly no other coins have."
"The SEC walked away from some other cryptocurrency cases voluntarily, but 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," he wrote.
He went on to describe the development as a "victory for open-source software, cryptocurrency, and free speech."
Heart added in a tweet that the SEC had not dropped its lawsuit against him. They were dismissed outright by the judge due to both a lack of jurisdiction and failure to present a case.
In court, I defeated the SEC. The SEC didn’t drop their case against me. Judge dismissed the case completely for failure to state claim as well as lack of jurisdiction. This is why PulseChain, PulseX and HEX gained legal certainty that almost no other coin has, even Ethereum.… https://t.co/iz8qAdNGYC
— Richard Heart (@RichardHeartWin) April 23, 2025
SEC’s New Direction
The SEC has dropped a slew of investigations against crypto companies in recent months—reflecting Donald Trump's favorable stance toward the industry.
Paul Atkins became the SEC Chairman earlier this month. He was formerly an advisor for several digital assets firms and has promised to take a less heavy-handed approach to his successor Gary Gensler.
In the now-abandoned lawsuit, the SEC had accused Heart of claiming that HEX was "built to be the highest appreciating asset that has ever existed in the history of man." He was accused of using millions of dollars in investor funds to purchase luxury items.
Heart faces Interpol Red Notice
Nonetheless, Heart—whose real name is Richard Schueler—remains the subject of an Interpol red notice and appears on a list of Europe's most wanted fugitives, on charges of tax fraud and physically assaulting a teenager by grabbing their hair, knocking them to the ground and punching them up to five times in the face.
According to CoinGecko data, HEX has risen by 12.7% over the past 24 hours—extending to gains of 49% since this time last week.
