Update (March 11 at 9:59 pm UTC): This article has been updated to include a response from the SEC.
Ian Balina, the CEO of Token Metrics and a YouTuber with more than 100,000 subscribers, said the US Securities and Exchange Commission will stop pursuing him in court over allegations he violated securities laws by promoting Sparkster (SPRK) tokens in 2018.
Speaking to Cointelegraph on March 11, Balina said the SEC had informed him it planned to recommend the court dismiss a case filed in 2022 alleging “unregistered offering and promotion in 2018 of crypto asset securities called SPRK Tokens.”
According to the crypto YouTuber, the SEC’s actions were based on the change in the administration’s priorities — referring to US President Donald Trump appointing acting SEC Chair Mark Uyeda after the departure of Gary Gensler in January.
“Obviously, the new administration is pro-crypto,” said Balina, claiming that the “time has ended” for crypto