A federal judge has denied a preliminary injunction filed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which sought to freeze assets belonging to crypto startup Blockvest based on alleged violations of securities laws. In a ruling dated Nov. 27, U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel ruled that the SEC has not proven that Blockvest – or its founder Reginald Buddy Ringgold – violated federal securities laws, and therefore denied the asset freeze request, among other actions.