Just heard: Richard Heart has won against the US SEC. On April 21, the agency announced that it will not refile its fraud case — after a court dismissed the charges already on February 28. That sounds like a big victory, and Richard Heart is accordingly bragging about it on X.

After years of legal proceedings, he now declares that HEX, PulseChain, and PulseX have "completely defeated" the SEC and achieved regulatory clarity "that almost no other coins have." Sounds impressive — but here’s where it gets interesting.

The real reason for the win was not that the SEC was wrong. The court instead ruled that the SEC lacked jurisdiction because Richard Heart does not live in the U.S. and the activities targeted a global audience, not specifically American investors. Judge Carol Bagley Amon argued that the alleged misappropriation occurred through digital wallets that had no connection to the U.S.

But here’s the thing: While Richard Heart gets a pass in America, he’s in real trouble in Europe. Finnish authorities are searching for him over alleged tax evasion and assault on 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 him on their wanted lists.

The SEC accused Richard Heart of using HEX to deceive investors with unrealistic promises — allegedly 38% annual returns, bigger gains for recruiting new users. The allegations also included that Heart spent over $12 million from HEX offerings on luxury goods — watches, sports cars, even a 555-carat diamond ring. That’s part of his public image, but it also raises questions.

What I really want to know: How long can this go on? Industry observers have long argued that HEX is structurally a Ponzi scheme. Richard Heart owns about 90% of the tokens. Despite dedicated supporters on social media, the token looks practically dead. At launch, HEX was priced at $0.002253, with transaction volumes of barely $250,000 in 24 hours.

The price briefly rose after the SEC dismissal news, but since then, nothing has moved. From a bird’s-eye view, HEX has been practically stagnant since Richard Heart’s legal troubles. The legal victory in America could be significant for the crypto industry — but for HEX itself? That’s a different story.