SEC drops case against BitClout founder with prejudice

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has dropped its two-year-long case against the founder of the blockchain-based social media platform BitClout, Nader Al-Naji. 

In the joint dismissal stipulation filed in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York last Thursday, the SEC cited the crypto task force, which was tasked with developing a regulatory framework for crypto in January 2025, and a “reassessment of the evidentiary record” as the basis for dismissal.

However, the regulator cautioned in a statement that this case outcome doesn’t necessarily mean other similar enforcement actions will receive the same treatment.  

“The Commission’s decision to exercise its discretion and seek dismissal of this litigation is based on the particular facts and circumstances of this case and does not necessarily reflect the Commission’s position on any other case,” it said.

Cointelegraph has contacted the SEC and the DeSo blockchain, where Al-Naji leads the foundation, for comment. 

Accusations included spending money on a mansion 

Al-Naji is a former Google engineer, the founder of the Basis protocol and creator of the DeSo blockchain. He founded BitClout and launched it publicly in March 2021.

The SEC’s July 2024 complaint accused Al-Naji of raising more than $257 million by selling the native token of the BitClout platform, BTCLT, while telling investors the funds wouldn’t be used to pay any BitClout team members.

Al-Naji was also accused of spending more than $7 million on personal items, including rent for a Beverly Hills mansion and cash gifts to family members, and also mischaracterizing the inner workings of the platform as decentralized, with no governing company controlling it, despite allegedly running the project behind the scenes himself.

As part of the settlement, Al-Naji has waived any claims for reimbursement of legal fees or expenses against the SEC. The regulator has dismissed the case with prejudice, meaning it can't bring another case against Al-Naji or the relief defendants mentioned, including his mother, wife, and several companies under his control, again using the same charges.

The Department of Justice also ended a separate case accusing Al-Naji of wire fraud in February 2025 without prejudice. Al-Naji said in an X post at the time the case was dismissed because the government's case didn’t hold up under scrutiny.

Source: Nader Al-Naji

Under the Trump administration, the SEC has slowly been walking back its hardline stance toward crypto firms, dismissing a growing number of enforcement actions against crypto firms.

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