LBRY Inc. has thrown in the towel, announcing that it would be shutting down operations, citing millions of dollars of debt that have made operations unviable.
The company issued a final message, thanking everyone who fought with the company to uphold online freedom.
LBRY Parts With A Final Message
The company issued its final message to the crypto community, stating it owed several million in debt, making it impossible for the firm to continue. The firm, in a separate post on X, stated,
“LBRY Inc. is winding down. The LBRY network is unaffected. Odysee and other assets will undergo a legal process to satisfy debts, but Odysee has a bright future ahead. Thank you to everyone who fought with us for online freedom. A final goodbye post is in the first reply.”
In a statement released on Odysee on the 20th of October, the team explained that its debts had become too big a barrier to overcome. The statement also revealed that all LBRY employees, board members, and executives have resigned and were only looking to satisfy outstanding legal requirements.
“LBRY Inc. must die. There is no escaping this. It has lost a judgment to the federal government, has several million dollars in debts, and has pledged to shut down. LBRY Inc. has debts to the SEC, its legal team, and a private debtor that it cannot pay. Its assets, including Odysee, are being placed into receivership. As of this post, all LBRY executives, employees, and board members have resigned. All will be doing what is required to satisfy any outstanding legal requirements, but no more.”
LBRY’s Original Decision
LBRY had originally announced it would wind down operations after a final judgment came in favor of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on the 11th of July. The SEC originally sought a punishment of $22 million. However, the agency downgraded the punishment to $111,000 after it realized LBRY could not pay the original penalty. LBRY had stated back then,
“The final judgment in SEC vs LBRY is out. In accordance with the court’s order and our promises, we expect to spend the next several months winding LBRY Inc. down entirely. As to what happens to LBRY from here, well, that’s up to you.”
In September, the LBRY community was quite happy after LBRY backtracked on the decision to wind down and filed a notice of appeal against the regulator. However, the latest statement reveals that the firm would not be continuing its appeal process against the Securities and Exchange Commission.
In a post on X, former LBRY CEO Jeremy Kauffman spoke about the firm’s eight-year journey in crypto, stating that “It wasn’t a happy ending, but it was a happy journey.”
Crypto Community Bids Farewell
The announcement by the LBRY team saw the crypto community come out in droves to give their final words of support to the now-defunct project. One user thanked LBRY for putting up a good fight, presumably against the Securities and Exchange Commission. Meanwhile, another user suggested that LBRY’s network was one of the best and most useful blockchains in the market.
“Thanks for creating LBRY. It is one of the most useful blockchain-based apps out there.”
What Happens To Odysee?
In the comments on LBRY’s post, community members expressed willingness to support Odysee and keep it running. Odysee is LBRY’s flagship app and serves over 6,000,000 users each month, even when it has been iced. It has also been rated as the most popular Web3 social media website in the world. The platform’s popularity makes it LBRY’s most valuable asset.
The post added that while it is certain that another party will assume Odysee assets, it is not clear whether the Web3 platform will continue to use the LBRY network in the future or move to another network. Signing off, the statement added,
“Our online freedom is increasingly threatened as it’s simultaneously become increasingly necessary. We’re proud to have played a role in the effort to keep the internet free, but also remorseful to have everything play out as it did.”
Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.
