A federal judge has denied a preliminary injunction filed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which sought to freeze assets belonging to crypto startup Blockvest based on alleged violations of securities laws.
In a ruling dated Nov. 27, U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel ruled that the SEC has not proven that Blockvest – or its founder Reginald Buddy Ringgold – violated federal securities laws, and therefore denied the asset freeze request, among other actions (a temporary restraining order already froze the company's assets briefly).
Stephen Palley, an attorney with Anderson Kill, told CoinDesk that, unless there is another order or agreement which may not yet be public, the denial means Blockvest and Ringgold's assets should no longer be frozen.