On November 7, 2022, the district court in New Hampshire granted summary judgment in favor of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) against the blockchain payment network LBRY. This was the third notable win for the agency, following the SEC’s victories against Kik and Telegram, while the Ripple case is about to be decided, also on summary judgment.

Although the court’s opinion hardly broke new ground, relying on fact-specific analysis based on the Howey test, the LBRY decision continues a trend of courts focusing on the specific details to determine whether tokens constitute an investment contract based on a test that dates back to 1946. Meanwhile, the crypto industry in the U.S. is still waiting for proper regulation.

The SEC Seeks To Destroy

In the latest filing, the SEC has now reaffirmed its tough stance against LBRY and the crypto industry as a whole. James K. Filan, a former federal prosecutor and defense lawyer, referenced the SEC’s letter in which the agency claims that “a penalty equal to LBRY’s total pecuniary gain of $22,151,971 is fair and reasonable under the circumstances.”

“The SEC doesn’t want to regulate crypto; it wants to kill it in the United States,” Filan said. As XRP community attorney and YouTuber Jeremy Hogan explained, the SEC is seeking an injunction against LBRY for future sales. Hogan further commented:

[…] and on the next page, [the SEC] argues the Court can’t rule on future sales by Amici because they are…