The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has decided to end its three-year investigation into Hiro Systems, a developer company crucial to the Bitcoin Layer-2 network Stacks, bringing relief to the crypto community. The SEC filing on July 12 confirmed that the investigation into Hiro Systems (formerly known as Blockstack) has been closed, with no enforcement action to be taken.
Hiro Systems managed to raise $70 million through token sales between 2017 and 2019 and successfully launched the Stacks mainnet in January 2021. Following this, the SEC’s enforcement division initiated an investigation into the company and the Stacks blockchain, which has been ongoing for the past three years. Hiro reportedly cooperated with the SEC throughout the investigation, providing the necessary information as requested.
In a statement released on Friday, Hiro announced, “On July 9, 2024, we were informed by the staff of the SEC that they had concluded their investigation and do not intend to recommend an enforcement action. Given the current regulatory environment in the US, this is the best possible outcome that any company in our industry can hope for.”
The news of the SEC ending its investigation has had a positive impact on the Stacks (STX) token, which saw a significant increase in price following the announcement. While many altcoins were struggling, STX price surged from $1.5 to over $1.70. At the time of writing, the token was trading at around $1.69, marking a 5% increase in the past 24 hours.
Additionally, the SEC recently concluded its investigation into Paxos, a US-based crypto company involved with the Binance USD (BUSD) stablecoin. The investigation, which led Binance to stop supporting BUSD in August 2023, ended on Thursday, July 11, 2024, with the SEC deciding not to pursue any enforcement action against Paxos Trust Company, LLC.
The conclusion of both investigations by the SEC is seen as a positive development for the crypto industry, providing some clarity and relief to companies operating in the space. Investors and stakeholders are hopeful that this will lead to a more favorable regulatory environment for cryptocurrencies in the US and encourage further innovation and growth in the market.