U.S. SEC Drops Lawsuit Against BitClout Founder Nader Al-Naji, Concluding $257 Million Funding Case

Odaily News The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has dismissed its civil enforcement lawsuit against BitClout founder Nader Al-Naji. According to a joint court filing on March 12, the SEC and Al-Naji agreed to end the case proceedings. The case will be permanently closed, and the regulatory agency is barred from bringing further legal action based on the same allegations. The SEC stated that this decision was made "based on the specific facts and circumstances of this case." It is reported that the SEC sued Al-Naji in July 2024, accusing him of wire fraud and selling unregistered securities through the crypto social network project BitClout (later associated with the decentralized social blockchain DeSo). He allegedly raised approximately $257 million by selling BitClout's native token BTCLT and was accused of misappropriating over $7 million of investor funds for personal expenses, including leasing a mansion in Beverly Hills. (CoinDesk)