Share this article
SEC Seeks to Slash $22M Fine on Crypto Firm LBRY to $111K
A U.S. judge ruled in November that the crypto startup had violated securities laws by selling its native LBC token without registering with the SEC.
Updated May 15, 2023, 5:16 p.m. Published May 15, 2023, 9:55 a.m.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) wants to revise a $22 million penalty set on crypto startup LBRY to $111,614, according to court documents from Friday.
The regulator cited LBRY's "lack of funds and near-defunct status," as reasons for withdrawing its previous request for fine.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
In March last year, the SEC sued LBRY on allegations that the sale of its native LBRY credits (LBC) violated federal securities laws. In November, a New Hampshire judge ruled the startup had violated securities laws by failing to register with the SEC.
Jeremy Kauffman, LBRY's founder has previously said this case could impact the wider crypto industry as the company maintained that LBC was not a security.Ripple Labs has a similar defense as it faces SEC charges for the sale of $1.3 billion in XRP tokens.
The SEC's request to remedy the penalty also argued LBRY should be "enjoined," at least until it carries out its plans to dissolve the company and burn LBC tokens. The company had previously argued the SEC's $22 million penalty was unwarranted, comparing the sum to the regulator's $5 million settlement in its case against Kik over a $100 million unregistered token sale.
Read more: LBRY Token Rally Stalls as Traders Move on From Court Speculation
More For You
What to know:
- As of October 2025, GoPlus has generated $4.7M in total revenue across its product lines. The GoPlus App is the primary revenue driver, contributing $2.5M (approx. 53%), followed by the SafeToken Protocol at $1.7M.
- GoPlus Intelligence's Token Security API averaged 717 million monthly calls year-to-date in 2025 , with a peak of nearly 1 billion calls in February 2025. Total blockchain-level requests, including transaction simulations, averaged an additional 350 million per month.
- Since its January 2025 launch , the $GPS token has registered over $5B in total spot volume and $10B in derivatives volume in 2025. Monthly spot volume peaked in March 2025 at over $1.1B , while derivatives volume peaked the same month at over $4B.
More For You
Citadel Securities and DeFi Waging War of Words Through SEC Correspondence
The investing giant had asked the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to treat DeFi players like regulated entities, and the DeFi crowd pushed back.
What to know:
- A feud conducted over U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) correspondence has developed between Citadel Securities and the DeFi sector, arguing over whether DeFi protocols should be more regulated.
- The DeFi space is calling out the investment firm for its approach to the securities regulator.
Top Stories
