Blockchain company LBRY – the creators of the LBRY blockchain – has issued its final message to the crypto community, citing “several million dollars” in debts that have now prevented the company from continuing.
“This will be our last post,” the LBRY team said in an Oct. 20 statement on Odysee, a video sharing site powered by LBRY that was also shared on X (formerly Twitter).
LBRY Inc. ends
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 internet freedom.
Final farewell post is in the first reply.
– LBRY (@LBRYcom) October 19, 2023
LBRY said several million dollars in debt owed to the SEC, its legal team and a private debtor ended up being too big a hurdle to overcome.
“LBRY Inc. must die, there is no escape from this. It lost a lawsuit to the federal government, is several million dollars in debt, and has promised to close.”
“Thank you to everyone who fought with us for internet freedom,” LBRY added in an Oct. 19 post.
LBRY originally announced it would decrease in July after a final judgment in favor of the SEC on July 11. The SEC originally sought a penalty of $22 million but then reduced that to $111,000 when it realized that the defunct company could not pay.
In September, the community rejoiced after it apparently reversed the decision by filing a notice of appeal against the regulator.
In its latest statement, however, the company revealed that it will no longer pursue its appeal against the SEC.
![](https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2023-10/c673e4ae-6d49-4e59-b567-4efe761a380b.png)
The company also noted that the executives, employees and board members of LBRY have resigned and are now only engaged in satisfying some outstanding legal requirements.
“It wasn’t a happy ending, but it was a happy journey,” explained now-former CEO Jeremy Kauffman in an Oct. 19 post, reflecting on LBRY’s eight-year tenure in the cryptocurrency industry.
it wasn’t a happy ending, but it was a happy journey pic.twitter.com/BxLPVdi2DR
– Jeremy Kauffman (@jeremykauffman) October 19, 2023
Crypto community greets
The announcement saw members of the crypto community come out to give their final words of support to the LBRY team.
One X-user, Steve, thanked LBRY for a “good fight” – presumably against the SEC, while another, archers suggested that LBRY’s network is one of the most useful blockchain-based platforms on the market.
Thank you for creating LBRY. It is one of the most useful blockchain based software out there.
— archerships – e/acc, pronatalist, immortalist (@archerships) October 19, 2023
In the comments section of LBRY’s post about Odysee, community members expressed a willingness to continue supporting Odysee in operation.
![](https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2023-10/2c8849f2-b920-4abe-838d-97d58882968e.png)
Related: The aftermath of LBRY: Consequences of the ongoing crypto regulatory process
Because the LBRY blockchain is open source and decentralized, it will continue to function as long as blocks continue to be mined, the team noted on Odysee.
Odysee served 5.3 million unique users every month between January and April 2023, more than any other decentralized social media platform in the market, according to CoinGecko.
Magazine: Crypto regulation – Does SEC Chairman Gary Gensler have the last word?