Apertum Foundation and Josip Heit succeed in lawsuit against Texas securities regulator
The law firm Quinn Emanuel announces dismissal of all claims
The developer of digital assets, The Apertum Foundation, and its lead advisor Josip Heit have won their legal battle against the Texas State Securities Regulator. The Securities Regulator has dismissed all claims against the Foundation and Mr. Heit, rescinding its previously issued cease and desist order.
The Apertum Foundation is the developer of the Apertum Blockchain and its native cryptocurrency token. In April 2025, the Texas State Securities Regulator issued a cease and desist order, alleging that the Apertum token was an unregistered security. On behalf of the Apertum Foundation and Mr. Heit, Quinn Emanuel challenged the order as an abuse of the Securities Regulator’s jurisdiction, arguing that the Apertum token does not constitute a security under US federal law or the Texas Securities Act. Neither the token itself nor the Apertum Foundation’s decentralized finance (DeFi) platform, DAO1, offer or represent an investment contract under securities laws.
„This dismissal is a major victory for the Apertum Foundation and Mr. Heit,“ said Avi Perry, Co-Chair of the Securities Litigation Group at Quinn Emanuel. „This case should never have gone to court, and we fought hard to achieve the right outcome. The allegations of the Texas State Securities Regulator were unfounded, and we are pleased for our clients that the baseless cease and desist order against them has been completely withdrawn. We commend the Securities Regulator for acknowledging their error and dismissing this case.“
„From the outset, the Apertum Foundation has offered a compliant, secure platform and cutting-edge technology,“ said Josip Heit, Senior Advisor of the Foundation. „We have promised to vigorously defend against the false accusations of the Texas State Securities Regulator, and now we have been vindicated. This dismissal confirms that we have done nothing wrong. We will continue to offer our users transformative technologies and collaborate with our lawyers to ensure compliance with all applicable laws in the countries where we operate. We thank our users for their support.“
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