United States Securities and Exchange has targeted blockchain gaming platform Immutable potentially targeting its listing and private sales of the IMX token in 2021.

According to a Nov. 1 statement from Immutable, the SEC issued an “accelerated” Wells notice following an initial interaction where the SEC informed the company that a Wells notice would be sent “within the week,” but delivered it “within hours” instead.

Immutable highlighted the vague nature of the notice, stating that it “simply cited statutory provisions” with “fewer than 20 words of material explanation” and offered little meaningful detail about the investigation’s focus. The company believes the agency’s claims could be targeting the “listing and private sales” of its native IMX token in 2021.

Shortly after issuing the notice, the SEC reportedly engaged in a phone call with the firm, raising concerns over a 2021 blog post in which Immutable detailed Huobi Ventures’ early investment in IMX at a pre-launch price of $0.10 issued at a “$10 pre-100:1 split”, stating that there had been no “exchange of value” in the deal.

Immutable disputes this claim, arguing that the investment was, in fact, legitimate and backed by “real consideration.” 

The firm added it is “confident in its position” regarding the classification of the IMX token, pushing back against what it described as the SEC “indiscriminately claiming that tokens across the industry are securities.” 

Immutable called for a “robust conversation to clarify facts” and expressed its willingness to challenge the SEC’s enforcement approach if necessary.

Reacting to the news, Immutable co-founder Robbie Ferguson reiterated the company’s position to “defend digital ownership in gaming” by joining contemporaries like Robinhood and OpenSea in defending against the SEC’s claims.

While a Wells notice does not guarantee that formal action will be taken, the development came as a blow to Immutable’s IMX token which was down more than 14% at press time.

The SEC, led by Chair Gary Gensler, has consistently gone after crypto firms for allegedly skirting securities laws. This has also sparked pushback from U.S. policymakers, who say Gensler is creating confusion in the digital asset space by introducing terms like “crypto asset security.”

Yet the regulator remains unfazed, recently issuing a Wells notice to Crypto.com. In response, Crypto.com filed a lawsuit challenging the commission.

Fairdesk, a Singapore-based crypto exchange launched in 2021, will permanently close on Nov. 30.

The decision comes amid shifting market conditions and regulatory changes, according to a company release.

Fairdesk built a reputation for offering futures trading, spot trading, and other crypto services to a global user base. However, the company’s leadership has opted to wind down operations, citing challenges in the current environment.

Effective Oct. 17, all trading activities on Fairdesk will cease, with only withdrawals allowed until the final closure date. Fairdesk encouraged its users to withdraw their funds before the Nov. 30 deadline.

What was Fairdesk?

Fairdesk was a derivatives trading platform based in Singapore, allowing users to go long and short on digital assets. It offered leverage up to 125x, enabling traders to maximize potential gains with minimal capital.

The platform was known for its high performance, reliability, and low transaction fees, positioning itself as a trusted exchange for day traders.  

Fairdesk also featured strong security measures, keeping user funds in cold wallets and ensuring every transaction was manually inspected and signed offline.

The opening, nine months after OKX Middle East Fintech FZE was granted full regulatory approval by the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA), will allow one of the four biggest cryptocurrency exchanges by volume to offer local residents access to a market without involving a broker who buys liquidity from outside the UAE, usually at a higher price, adding time and friction, said Rifad Mahasneh, the exchange’s general manager for the Middle East.