Josip Heit and Apertum Win Major Securities Lawsuit Against Texas Regulator

The Texas State Securities Board (TSSB), one of the strongest regulatory authorities in the United States, has officially abandoned its claim that the Apertum Foundation’s token and its DAO1 decentralized finance (DeFi) platform are securities. The Apertum Foundation and its senior advisor, Josip Heit, represented by Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP, have prevailed in their litigation against the TSSB. On 31 July 2025, the TSSB formally dismissed its case against the Apertum Foundation and Mr. Heit. This dismissal confirms that neither the Apertum token nor the DAO1 platform constitutes an investment contract within the meaning of applicable securities laws.

This is a victory for the entire blockchain industry, as this landmark decision marks one of the biggest wins under U.S. law’s evolving crypto-friendly framework established during the Donald Trump era regulatory landscape. Industry experts see it as a significant breakthrough, unlocking new paths for innovation and technological freedom across the blockchain sector.

Apertum is a leading general layer-1 blockchain on the Avalanche ecosystem. This victory is a major development for the entire Apertum ecosystem, including its DAO1 DeFi platform and its native $APTM token. The decision paves the way for tremendous opportunities by affirming the full legitimacy of their technology and enabling scaling and widespread adoption. Apertum is already acknowledged as one of the fastest, most secure, and scalable next-generation blockchains, ranked among the Top 5 Layer-1 crypto leaders in 2025.

Josip Heit, senior advisor to the Apertum Foundation, commented: “From Day One, the Apertum Foundation has offered a compliant, safe platform and cutting-edge technology. We promised to defend ourselves aggressively against the Texas Securities Board’s mistaken allegations, and we have now been vindicated. This dismissal confirms we did nothing wrong. We will continue to offer transformative technology to our users and to work with our lawyers to comply with all applicable laws in the jurisdictions where we operate. Thank you to our users for standing with us.”

Avi Perry, co-Chair of the Securities Litigation Group at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP, said: “This dismissal is a big win for the Apertum Foundation and Mr. Heit. This case should never have been brought, and we fought hard to reach the right result. The Texas Securities Board’s allegations were incorrect, and we are thrilled for our clients that the meritless cease-and-desist order against them has been withdrawn in its entirety. We credit the Securities Board for acknowledging its error and dismissing this case.”

The Apertum ecosystem includes a decentralized exchange (DEX) and blockchain fully integrated with CoinMarketCap, a platform with over 340 million monthly visitors. Apertum’s token is traded on global cryptocurrency exchanges such as MEXC, BitMart, P2B, and LBank, collectively supporting more than 80 million active traders worldwide. The platform has secured over 55,000 active blockchain users and has successfully burned more than $3.5 million worth of tokens, while a total of $25 million worth of $APTM native tokens have been mined and distributed to the community through its decentralized finance platform.