Bittrex Seeks Court Order to Void SEC Settlement and Request Refund of $24 Million Fine

ChainCatcher report, according to Decrypt, the closed cryptocurrency exchange Bittrex has applied to a federal judge to vacate its settlement agreement with the U.S. SEC and requested the SEC to refund the $24 million fine. Bittrex was accused by the SEC during the Biden administration of offering unregistered securities transactions, ultimately reaching a settlement and paying the fine, after which it shut down due to “current U.S. regulatory and economic conditions.” Bittrex’s attorneys stated in recent filings that since the Trump administration took office, the SEC’s stance on cryptocurrency regulation has fundamentally shifted, acknowledging that its prior legal theory classifying most tokens as securities was incorrect, that its enforcement strategy was flawed from the outset, and that it has since dismissed nearly all litigation and investigations against crypto companies. Bittrex is asking the judge to order the return of the funds before the SEC transfers them to the U.S. Department of the Treasury for restitution. In March of this year, the SEC initiated the process to transfer the fine to the Treasury.