SEC drops securities fraud case against Hex founder Richard Heart
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has formally ended its legal battle with Hex founder Richard Schueler, widely known as Richard Heart.
In a letter to New York District Court Judge Carol Bagley Amon, which Heart shared on X, the SEC stated that it “does not intend to file an amended complaint,” thereby allowing the earlier court dismissal to stand.
As previously covered on crypto.news, the SEC had sued Heart in July 2023, accusing him of raising over $1 billion through unregistered securities offerings tied to his crypto projects, Hex (HEX), PulseChain (PLS), and PulseX (PSLX).
Heart was also accused of using investor funds for personal luxury purchases, including high-end watches and cars, while he promoted his project tokens as paths to “grandiose wealth.”
The case took a turn in February when district court Judge Amon tossed the complaint , saying the SEC could not prove that Heart’s actions specifically targeted U.S. investors. While the regulator was given time to amend and refile, it has now chosen to walk away from the case altogether.
The commission’s decision comes as no surprise, as the SEC, under the new Trump administration, has dropped several high-profile cases against crypto firms, including Coinbase, Kraken , and Consensys. Since former chair Gary Gensler’s departure in January, the agency has steadily scaled back its litigation efforts targeting the crypto sector.
Heart celebrated the dismissal, claiming that HEX, PulseChain, and PulseX had “defeated the SEC completely” and gained a level of “regulatory clarity that nearly no other coins have.”
“This is a victory for open-source software, cryptocurrency, and free speech,” he said, adding that the case “would have set a terrible precedent and caused perhaps multiple billions of dollars of damage to the vital open source and free software industry that powers most of the Internet.”
But while Heart may be off the SEC’s radar, he’s still on Interpol’s. He was added to the agency’s Red Notice list in December 2024, with Finnish authorities seeking his arrest over tax evasion charges spanning nearly four years, and an assault allegation involving a 16-year-old.
As of press time, the Red Notice remains active , and Heart’s name still appears on Europe’s most wanted list.

Ostium is not Hyperliquid. It is better
In recent weeks, the community has been buzzing about @OstiumLabs new PerpDex, largely thanks to the launch of their points program and impressive early traction:
- TVL grew 10x in just three weeks, from $5M to $50M
- Trading volume surpassed $2.5B since the beginning of April
- Generated $1.2M in fees—equivalent to ~$21M annualized
This momentum has drawn increasing attention to the project.
I’m generally skeptical about perpetual DEXs and rarely write about them. But Ostium stood out to me. They've introduced an innovative protocol model with a novel approach to risk management and settlement. So what makes it unique?
Ostium’s Dual-Pool Architecture
Ostium utilizes two distinct pools:
1. Market Maker pool for liquidity providers (LPs)
2. Liquidity Buffer pool for PnL settlements with traders
The Market Maker Pool is a traditional LP pool that facilitates settlement when traders profit or lose. But this model comes with key challenges:
- High liquidity requirements — large capital is needed to maintain protocol stability.
- LP dependency — LPs can withdraw funds at any time, destabilizing the system.
- Unpredictable returns — APR is highly volatile and depends on trader performance, making it difficult to calculate.
- Adversarial dynamics — LPs effectively bet against traders, creating an ethical gray area and conflicting incentives.
These risks often deter serious liquidity providers from engaging with PerpDEX protocols.
Enter the Buffer Pool
Ostium solves these issues with a Liquidity Buffer Pool—a protocol-owned liquidity layer that acts as a clearinghouse for trades. It absorbs the volatility and is primarily funded through trader liquidations.
This makes the Buffer Pool the first protective layer of the system, shielding LPs from direct exposure to trader PnL.
Meanwhile, LPs in the Market Maker Pool earn:
- Share of trading fees
- 10% of liquidation proceeds
Importantly, the LP pool only steps in as a secondary backstop if the Buffer Pool is depleted. This separation dramatically reduces risk for LPs and allows for more predictable and sustainable APRs.
Aligned Incentives and Sustainable Growth
Ostium’s model creates a more “environmentally friendly” PerpDex.
LPs don’t profit from trader losses—their income comes from transaction fees. So, their interests are aligned with the growth and usage of the platform. The more users and volume, the more revenue they generate.
That’s a major shift in incentive design and could make DeFi more appealing to serious capital allocators.
A Step Toward Decentralization
At present, the Buffer Pool is controlled by the @OstiumLabs team. However, with a future token launch, governance could be transitioned to the community, bringing the protocol fully in line with decentralized ideals.
People often describe Ostium as a trendy (1) new PerpDex (2) focused on RWA trading, (3) offering 100–200x leverage like Forex, and (4) powered by Chainlink.
But in doing so, they miss the real story—the engineering and design innovation at the heart of the protocol.
I’m genuinely inspired by what the team is building.
It’s projects like Ostium that push the boundaries of what’s possible in blockchain.
Thank you @FlowTraderTM @kaledora @made_raicu for innovation in PerpDEX
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