The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has officially dropped its securities fraud case against Richard Schueler, aka “Richard Heart”, the founder of Hex, PulseChain, and PulseX.
SEC Won’t Refile a Case against HEX’s Heart
In a letter dated April 21 to US District Judge Carol Bagley Amon, SEC attorney Matthew Gulde stated that the agency “does not intend to file an amended complaint” after its initial lawsuit was thrown out earlier this year. The original complaint was dismissed on February 28, after failing to prove that Heart’s activities were aimed at US investors- undermining the SEC’s claim to jurisdiction.
Although Judge Amon allowed the SEC until March 20 to amend the filing and later extended the deadline to April 21, SEC finally abandoned the case.
Richard Heart hailed the decision on X, stating “Richard Heart, PulseChain, PulseX, and HEX have defeated the SEC completely. He even went on to call the result a “rare example of full regulatory clarity”. He claimed that this was the only case in which “the SEC lost and crypto won across the board,” with every claim dismissed by the court.
Today the SEC notified the court that it “…does not intend to file an amended complaint…” and their deadline to do so has expired. The Court previously dismissed the SEC’s entire case. Richard Heart, PulseChain, PulseX, and HEX have defeated the SEC completely and have… pic.twitter.com/hKtUUQsPHn
— Richard Heart (@RichardHeartWin) April 22, 2025
He further called the court’s decision as a victory not just for himself, but for the principles of open-source software, crypto innovation, and free speech, pointing out that the SEC had even targeted “software code itself.”
Richard Heart and SEC Legal Saga
The SEC originally filed its lawsuit in July 2023, accusing Heart of conducting unregistered securities offerings and raising over $1 billion through promises of extravagant investor returns. The agency claimed the promotion of HEX, PulseChain (PLS), and PulseX (PLSX) were a part of his illegal maneuver.
Heart, who lives in Finland, countered that the SEC lacked authority over him, as he wasn’t operating from within the US. Still, the agency argued he had marketed the tokens at an event in Las Vegas, seeking to establish domestic ties. In December 2024, the international police agency Interpol even issued a Red Notice seeking Heart’s arrest, citing additional suspicions of tax evasion in Finland.
Following the end of the legal drama, HEX rose by 4.67% and is currently trading at $0.002170. With a market cap of $1.2 billion, HEX’s 24-hour trading volume stands at $272.39K — a decrease of 27.53%.
This case is one of several crypto-related investigations that the SEC has closed. Under the Trump administration, the SEC has shown a more sympathetic stance, hinting at a possible shift in regulations and has ended investigations into Yuga Labs, Robinhood, Binance, and others.
Also Read: Paul Atkins SEC Swearing-in Expected by Tuesday: Fox Business’ Charles Gasparino
