Richard Heart has succeeded – at least with US authorities. The founder of HEX can indeed claim a rare victory in the crypto world: the SEC gives up. After years of legal battles and debates, the SEC announced on April 21 that it would not refile its fraud case against Richard Heart. A court had already dismissed the charges at the end of February.

How did this surprising outcome come about? Richard Heart and his legal team argued cleverly: the SEC had not proven that the alleged activities actually took place on U.S. soil. Judge Carol Bagley Amon agreed. She ruled that Heart’s statements about HEX reached a global audience but were not specifically targeted at U.S. investors. This cleared the way for the SEC to withdraw.

On X, Richard Heart proclaimed his triumph boastfully: HEX, PulseChain, and PulseX had completely defeated the SEC and achieved a regulatory clarity that few other crypto projects could boast. That sounds impressive – and for the HEX community, it was indeed a reason to celebrate.

But the story gets complicated here. While Richard Heart is free in America, he is facing serious trouble in Europe. Finnish authorities are searching for him on charges of tax fraud and alleged assault of a minor. In September 2024, he was taken into custody in absentia. Finnish police confiscated luxury watches worth millions of euros from an apartment in Espoo. Europol and Interpol have placed him on their wanted lists.

This is characteristic of Richard Heart: he lives publicly. Videos show him with Louis Vuitton suitcases full of luxury watches worth allegedly 9 million euros. The SEC claimed he spent over $12 million from HEX proceeds on sports cars, watches, and even a 555-Karat-Diamantring.

But back to the real question: what does this legal victory really mean for HEX? Industry observers are skeptical. Many see HEX as a new Ponzi scheme – with promised 38% annual returns, bonuses for recruiting new users, and the fact that Richard Heart controls about 90% of all HEX tokens. The price briefly rose after the SEC defeat but has since stagnated. With a price of around $0.002253 and transaction volumes under $250,000 in 24 hours, HEX appears more stagnant than triumphant.

The key question remains: can Richard Heart truly keep HEX alive? The US victory was less a proof of his innocence and more a technical win over jurisdiction. Things look much bleaker for Richard Heart in Europe. How long this journey will last remains to be seen.