Texas-based clothing company Beba and lobby group DeFi Education Fund have withdrawn a 2024 lawsuit against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over its approach to airdrops, citing a recent shift in the regulator’s approach to cryptocurrencies.

Beba launched a free token drop in March 2024 and, in collaboration with the DeFi Education Fund, filed a pre-implementation challenge against the SEC that year.

The lawsuit alleged that the regulator adopted its digital asset enforcement policy without a formal notice-and-comment rulemaking process, in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act.

The voluntary dismissal, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas on Friday, cites the work of the SEC’s Cryptocurrency Task Force and statements by Commissioner Hester Pierce in several speeches last year suggesting that the airdropped tokens are not securities.

The filing also notes Pierce’s suggestion in May that the SEC consider an exemption framework for airdrops, and a White House executive action from January encouraging the regulator to create a “safe harbor for certain airdrops.”

“Given the good work of the SEC’s Cryptocurrency Task Force and recent speeches indicating a change in the SEC’s position regarding free drop, we have decided to continue [the case] “This is not necessary at the moment and we can resubmit the application if we need to later,” the Decentralized Education Fund said in an X post on Friday.

“The DEF team expects the SEC’s Cryptocurrency Task Force to address airdrops soon — the core issue at stake in this lawsuit,” he added.

The case has been dismissed without prejudice, for now

The class was presented without bias, reserving the right of Beba and the DeFi Education Fund to resubmit if necessary.

“If the anticipated directives fail to materialize or are insufficient, plaintiffs reserve the right to resubmit their claims,” attorneys representing the couple wrote in a court document.

The SEC’s Evolving Position on Cryptocurrencies

Under former SEC Chairman Gary Gensler, the agency faced intense criticism from the cryptocurrency industry for allegedly shaping policy through enforcement actions and legal settlements rather than formal rulemaking.

Related to: The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) seeks comment on the handling of cryptocurrencies in the over-the-counter (OTC) broker-dealer rule.

Since Gensler’s resignation on January 20, 2025, crypto proponents have seen a regulatory shift by the SEC, including the rejection of several long-standing enforcement actions against cryptocurrency companies.

In a recent case, the SEC dropped a two-year lawsuit against Nader Al-Naji, founder of the blockchain-based social media platform Bitclot, for allegedly raising more than $257 million by selling Bitclot’s native token and spending more than $7 million on personal items.

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