U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Closes Its Investigation into Immutable X (IMX) Without Providing an Explanation

The company announced on March 25 that the SEC had sent a letter of termination, effectively ending the inquiry.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has closed its investigation into Immutable, the company behind Ethereum layer-2 Immutable X, without providing an explanation.

The SEC's probe was related to the company's IMX token sales and had led to a Wells notice in November 2023, suggesting that it was considering legal action against Immutable.

However, the regulator has now terminated its inquiry, according to a statement by Immutable on March 25.

"The SEC has closed its loop on this matter and sent a termination letter for the investigation," the company announced.

"We are pleased the SEC has concluded its inquiry into Immutable. This marks a significant milestone for the crypto industry and gaming, which could do good for the world but needs regulatory clarity to flourish fully," co-founder and president Robbie Ferguson added.

A spokesperson for the SEC told Coin Chapter that the agency does not confirm or deny the existence of pending investigations.

The SEC had been investigating the 2021 listing and private sales of IMX, the native token of Immutable X. The company disclosed in November 2023 that it was being scrutinized over past transactions.

According to Immutable, the SEC's focus was on a 2021 blog post by the company that mentioned an IMX token pre-launch investment at $0.10 per token, issued at a $10 pre-100:1 split.

The SEC questioned this statement, suggesting that it implied there was no exchange of value.

After receiving the Wells notice, Immutable maintained that it had acted in compliance with regulations. The company also had a 10-minute call with SEC representatives but did not disclose further details about the discussion.

The SEC recently closed multiple crypto-related investigations, signaling a shift in its enforcement strategy.

Along with Immutable, the agency has dropped cases ఇంటూર:

* OpenSea, a major NFT marketplace

* Robinhood, a crypto trading platform

* Uniswap Labs, a decentralized exchange developer

* Gemini, a crypto exchangeThe regulator has also dismissed lawsuits against Ripple Labs, Coinbase, and Kraken.

These actions suggest a change in regulatory priorities, though the SEC has not officially commented on why it decided to drop these cases.

However, despite dropping the probe, the SEC may still face legal challenges related to the IMX token offering.

The Rosen Law Firm, based in Manhattan, is pursuing a securities class-action lawsuit related to the IMX token offering.

The firm mentioned the SEC Wells notice as a key argument in its case against Immutable.

"We are not concerned about this lawsuit, which appears to be opportunistic given the strong governance of IMX and the company's full cooperation with relevant parties," a spokesperson for Immutable told Coin Chapter.

In its March 25 statement, Immutable said that AAA gaming studios had previously cited legal risks as a major barrier to entering Web3 gaming.

Moreover, the company noted that regulatory clarity could lead to greater investment in blockchain-based gaming.

According to Immutable, the in-game purchases market is estimated at over $100 billion, while tokenized digital assets have the potential to play a larger role.

With a clearer regulatory environment, the company suggested that Web3 gaming economies could grow significantly.