SEC Drops Investigation into Australian Crypto Firm Immutable as Regulatory Shift Continues

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has closed yet another investigation into a crypto firm, this time an investigation it lodged against the Australian crypto company Immutable.  The company received a Wells notice in October involving Immutable itself, the IMX Ecosystem Foundation and Immutable’s CEO. A Wells notice signals that the SEC could decide to bring charges.  Immutable said on Tuesday that the SEC’s investigation had come to an end. 

“The SEC’s decision to end its investigation is a win for all builders, creators and gamers fighting for true digital ownership in gaming,” the company said in a post. “This vindicates Immutable’s longstanding focus on legal and regulatory compliance.” The SEC declined to comment.  The SEC has taken on a new direction since the Trump administration came back to Washington and following former agency Chair Gary Gensler’s exit in January.

Gensler had said most cryptocurrencies are securities and called for crypto platforms to register, while also bringing cases against exchanges and NFT entities, among others. However, since January, the SEC has dropped several investigations and cases, including against Kraken, Coinbase, Gemini, Metamask, Opensea, Robinhood, and Uniswap.

 The regulator has also created a crypto task force led by Republican Commissioner Hester Peirce to provide clarity on how securities laws apply to crypto. Immutable said it embraced the U.S. government’s stance to create clear rules of the road for digital assets.  “Constructive regulation provides certainty for builders, and helps foster the innovative potential of blockchain technology,” the company said on Tuesday.