The US SEC has voluntarily withdrawn its appeal against the ruling in the "Securities Dealers" case

On February 20th, according to Decrypt, the US SEC voluntarily withdrew its appeal against a ruling that prevented the agency from extending existing securities laws to cover decentralized finance (DeFi) users and projects. In a four page motion submitted to the US Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, the SEC expressed its desire to "voluntarily withdraw this appeal," which was not opposed. Last November, a federal judge in Texas ruled that the SEC's expansion of the legal definition of "trader" exceeded the authority of the regulatory agency. The judge believes that the modification of SEC's trading rules is illegal because it conflates DeFi traders with financial brokers. Kristin Smith, CEO of the Blockchain Association, stated in a statement that the SEC's voluntary withdrawal of the appeal is a major victory for the digital asset industry. "We first filed a lawsuit against the SEC to challenge the agency's illegal seizure of power, which attempted to unilaterally redefine the boundaries of its statutory powers. With the agency's new leadership leading to today's final rejection, we look forward to productive dialogue between the industry and the SEC