On November 22nd, a court in Texas, USA, ordered the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to repeal a controversial rule that broadly redefined the term "dealer," affecting the crypto industry and traditional financial companies. The rule was passed by a 3-2 vote of SEC members in February, but the court found that it exceeded the SEC's statutory authority. Traditionally, a dealer refers to an entity that buys and sells securities for its own account, not for others. The SEC's expanded definition aimed to include any entity that provides market liquidity, especially in the US Treasury market. Initially, participants in the crypto industry objected to the rule because the original proposal's footnote explicitly stated that entities involved in crypto securities trading would need to comply with securities laws, register with the SEC, and join industry-supported self-regulatory organizations. In other words, the expanded interpretation effectively eliminated the traditional distinction between "traders" and "dealers." (The Block)